


Pretenses That Bind

by BeaniesAndTOMS



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Bad Boy Harry, Innocent Louis, M/M, school au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-28
Updated: 2014-12-28
Packaged: 2018-03-04 02:20:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2905655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeaniesAndTOMS/pseuds/BeaniesAndTOMS
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry’s the school’s playboy. Everyone wants to fuck him and be him. Teachers and parents are no exception. Louis is gorgeous and a year below him. He’s known for being funny and kind and an all around nice guy. He’s been lusting after Harry for years now, just like everyone else. But he see’s what other people don’t, and he knows there’s more to Harry than meets the eye. He’s dying to uncover the layers that make up Harry Styles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just now putting this on here from [tumblr](http://www.kissharryyoufool.tumblr.com).

Louis had never been particularly good at school, though he’d tried. Despite this, he liked it and he never complained at being forced to go. He loved his friends and he loved spending his days making people laugh, loved seeing their eyes light up at one of his jokes. It was not uncommon for him to spew out a random comment in the middle of class, having no prodding at all but for the erratic thoughts whizzing around in his own mind. The majority of the teachers were used to it by now and only responded with a simple shake of their head, a smile struggling to break through their stern expression. Louis only sent them a broad grin back, not one to be shy or intimidated easily by others.

Well - okay, that wasn’t _entirely_ true. He was when it came to one person. When it came to Harry Styles, Louis would blush and stutter at the drop of a hat, stumbling with every step, weak at the knees with just one glance of the older boy.

Harry Styles was wanted by anyone and everyone. He could charm the panties and underwear off of girls and guys alike with ease. He’d even been known to catch the attention of a few teachers and parents. Every where he went, people whispered about how perfect he was, how they’d die to be him, how badly they wanted to be fucked by him. Louis had even heard whispers of girls at parties literally on their knees, _begging_ for him to pick them to take to bed that night. Louis didn’t really know whether it was true or not but, judging by some of the looks sent Harry’s way on a regular basis, he was inclined to believe so.

Every one who entered the bedroom with Harry came back out with stories of how big he was, how long and talented his fingers were, how the palms of his hands were just the right mixture of soft and rough, how he seemed to know what they all wanted before they even said it, and they were all left with a lusting for the boy stronger than ever before, dying for a second round. If there was one thing that Harry was known for being consistent with though, it was that he never went to the same person more than once.

Harry was your typical playboy , except - he wasn’t. Not in Louis’ opinion. All anyone else ever saw when they looked at Harry was this confident, charming, dimpled sex god and, although he was that, Louis knew there was more to it. He knew there was more to _him_. He saw the fleeting embarrassment flashing through his eyes when he was complimented, knew he wasn’t as confident as everyone thought.

Louis wasn’t sure when it started; these feelings for Harry. Maybe it was when Louis was 12, all innocent and skinny limbs, his pubescent body not quite filled out yet and he first caught sight of the older boy, all dimples and cheeky grins and curls flying everywhere, his long torso still covered in a thin layer of baby fat. Louis had watched him every day from the playground, entranced by his beauty even at such a young age, in awe of the way he seemed to automatically capture the attention of everyone he came across without even trying.

Maybe it was when he was 14, running down the hallway, frantic at knowing he was late and they were supposed to present their project that day. His hands were full, his science book and notebooks and writing utensils piled on top of his arms all the way to his chin, and he was so focused on keeping them all in place that he wasn’t watching where he was going, having no warning before running into something hard and falling to the floor in a sprawling heap, the objects in his hands now scattered around him in a mess, a few papers floating before fluttering to the floor. He looked up to find the same green eyes he’d spent many nights dreaming about suddenly staring at him in amusement, the curly haired boy crouched down so that he was at eye level. Louis flushed a deep crimson in embarrassment, stuttering out a quiet apology. Harry had simply laughed in light heartened amusement, saying it was no big deal and that Louis was cute, only causing Louis to blush even redder and Harry giggled in response, placing the school supplies that he’d gathered up back in Louis’ arms.

Or maybe it was last year, when he was 15 and he’d been walking down the street, minding his own business, when he happened to look over and saw Harry in the backyard of a house a few feet in front of him. He was sitting on the ground, legs crossed, while a toddler who looked to be about 2 years old stood behind him, putting his hair in multiple rubber bands, clearly enjoying herself. He watched in fascination as he then proceeded to pull the small girl over his shoulder before laying her across his lap and tickling her as she giggled in delight, squirming and yelling for him to stop. After a few moments, he took mercy upon her and as soon as he let go, she shot up, wrapping her little arms firmly around his neck, clinging to him as if it was the most natural thing in the world for them and Harry simply laughed, wrapping his arms around her thin frame. She soon erupted into another fit of giggles and Louis could faintly hear the words ‘love you’ and ‘mine’ as she leaned back from where her head had been resting on his shoulder to look him in the eyes, her pale cheeks dusted pink. Louis had never seen Harry as the type to go around willingly playing with little children, much less enjoying it, but he wasn’t complaining one bit.

He didn’t know when it started; all he knew is that it had gotten so much worse over the past year. He’d always sat back and watched in infatuation as the older boy charmed his way through crowds of people, directing his dazzling smile at everyone but Louis. They’d never even had an actual conversation before, but he thought it was about time that changed - it was long overdue. He just wasn’t entirely sure how to go about it.

—————————————————————————

It was another typical day at school and Louis was ready for the day to be over. He hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before and a nap sounded amazing at the moment. Pulling his locker open, he quickly stuffed the books that had previously been in his arms in and switched them out with the ones for his next class. He heard someone giggle and absentmindedly looked over to where it was coming from.

Some nameless blonde girl that Louis swore he’d never seen before, and wondered for a moment if she was new, was leaning against a locker a few feet down from his. Harry was leaning over her, their faces only inches apart, with an arm above her head on the locker behind her. He had his typical flirty grin on (when did he not have that grin on though? I mean, really), saying something to her that made her giggle like the little pathetic school girl she was, battering her eyes lashes dramatically and holding one finger in between her teeth. Louis guessed that she thought it came off as sexy, but it only made him want to laugh because she was obviously trying too hard.

Louis rolled his eyes, shutting his locker. It wasn’t that it didn’t bother him seeing Harry flirting with so many people because it most certainly _did_. When he’d first started feeling for Harry it was almost unbearable how much it bothered him. He soon realized that because he was stupid and had chosen to fall for someone who was the biggest flirt known to man-kind, he was just going to have to suck it up or else he was never going to be happy. With a lot of self control, he’d finally managed to get to the point where he was able to laugh at it, though it still hurt some, but Louis had long ago accepted that the hurt would never go away completely, no matter how hard he tried.

He walked into his next hour class and plopped down in the seat next to his best friend, Liam. Liam was a good guy and, although Liam and him were complete opposites in most aspects, he’d came to be one of the people Louis relied most heavily on. He opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by someone clearing their throat.

He looked up to see the very popular, and one of Harry’s best friends, Zayn Malik. Which was a shock considering the popular crowd never had anything to do with their younger classmates; the hallway he was choosing to make his presence known in being a lower class hallway.

Once he was satisfied that he’d gotten everyone’s attention, Zayn smiled. “We usually don’t do this but - everyone here is invited to a party we’re having Saturday. It’s at Niall’s house.” A few people got confused expressions on their faces. “If you don’t know where that is, ask around. Not too hard to find out. We want it to be a big one - so invite people if you want…Alright?” He allowed his grin to widen, raising his eyebrows in question before walking briskly out the door, most likely to tell more people.

Louis’ head jerked around to Liam, eyes widening in shock before he slowly grinned, wiggling his eyebrows.

Liam groaned. “Louis, no.”

“Liam - yes. We have to do this. This could be our only chance at getting to go to a higher grade’s party. It’ll be awesome! We can’t miss out on it.” At seeing Liam’s mostly unwavering expression, he pouted. “Pwease?”

The teacher walked in then, sitting at his desk and telling the class to turn their books to page 218. He saw the look of indecisiveness on Liam’s face though and smirked in triumph.

———————————————————————————————————-

The party was thumping, the walls seemed to shake as the loud music beat against them. People were everywhere - in the living room, on the stairs, in the kitchen, and there was a line to the bathroom. There were people grinding everywhere he looked and Louis could’ve sworn he even saw a guy with his hand down a girls pants, but he couldn’t be sure. There was a keg in the kitchen and one in the backyard and every time Louis walked by one there was someone being held over it, chants of ’go, go, go’ erupting around them.

He’d expected it to be a little crazy, but not like this. He couldn’t say he was complaining though. It was just a little overwhelming. He’d already made a few new friends, gotten a few numbers, and it was already turning out to be a successful night in his opinion. Although, he wasn’t sure where Liam went. The last time he’d seen him was when they’d been at the bottom of the stairs and a pretty girl with caramel coated, brunette curls and equally dark skin had walked by. Liam hadn’t been able to take his eyes off of her and Louis had pushed him forward, telling him to “go after her, you twat.” Liam had smiled shyly but went forward all the same, following Louis’ advice. Louis smirked. Maybe he would get laid tonight. God knew he needed it. Maybe it’d help him loosen up a bit.

He was currently in the living room and the furniture had been pushed to the outside, couches and coffee tables lining the walls. A large crowd of people filled the inside space between, the majority of them were dancing and Louis thought ‘what the hell?’, decides he might as well join. Setting his cup of beer on the table closest to him, while knowing he wouldn’t be taking the risk of coming back to it again and actually drinking from it, he made his way to the floor.

He was soon swaying his hips, getting lost in the music, allowing it to flow through his body and move him however it pleased. Without even meaning to, he was now close to the middle of the crowd, having danced his way from the edge. Hands were placed on his upper waist and Louis looked up, smiling when he saw an attractive boy with dirty blonde shaggy hair and hazel eyes smirking down at him. They were soon swaying together, one of the boy’s legs nudged between both of Louis’, their bodies pressed tightly against each other, the boy’s hand on his lower back.

Without warning, there were another pair of hands gripping tightly at his hips and he was jerked from the other boys hold, pulled back against the sturdy body behind him. A look of confusion flickered across his face but the boy in front of him only backed off with a careless shrug, moving on to someone a few feet away.

So Louis decided he didn’t care either, reaching behind him to grasp at the other boy’s neck, using it to pull him more tightly against him and rolling his hips back, pressing his ass up against the other’s groin. The mystery boy responded with an almost inaudible groan, beginning to push his hips forward in time with the music. They did this for a while more, one of the other boy’s hands now pressed against Louis’ lower abdomen, using it for leverage, a thin film of sweat forming across his forehead.

Louis could feel the boy’s growing bulge behind him, could feel his own pants tightening around himself. He needed _more_ , he needed some friction, some form of relief and he suddenly just wanted to feel the bulge behind him against his own, rubbing against one another. He decided that’s exactly what he was going to get and turned around without warning, swiftly gripping the other boy’s hips in his hands and jerking them forward roughly against his own. He looked up upon hearing the other boy’s groan of approval and immediately went to back up in both shock and embarrassment, a blush blossoming across his cheeks, but Harry only smirked in response, gripping onto Louis’ hips tighter, holding him there and continuing what he had previously started, rubbing their lower bodies together teasingly.

“Hi there.” He drawled out slowly in a husky tone, moving their faces closer together.

Louis gulped, certain that he could be mistaken for a tomato right now. “Uh…h-hi.”

Harry only moved closer, swiftly covering Louis’ lips with his own. The younger boy stiffened in apprehension, but soon melted into the embrace and Harry immediately deepened it, sucking hungrily on Louis’ tongue. Louis knew he should stop this - he _needed_ to stop this, that he shouldn’t allow this to happen. But Harry was just so unbelievably _good_ with his mouth and he was moving his hips with more purpose now and oh, _oh_ \- it just felt so fucking good and Louis’ head was swirling and he couldn’t think straight.

The next thing that he knew they had somehow moved out of the crowd and he was being pushed down on a couch and Harry was crawling on top of him, straddling him and moving his hips forward, electing little involuntary moans out of him. Harry covered Louis’ lips with his own again, licking his way around the inside of his mouth, leaving nothing untouched before, much to Louis’ dismay, pulling away. He began making a line of wet, open mouthed kisses down his jaw line to his neck, stopping right above his collarbone and sucking harshly at the skin and - _oh_ , suddenly Louis didn’t care as much anymore because this, _this_ was good too.

Louis tried to even out his breath, tried to clear the fog up in his head so he could just fucking _think_  clearly. But Harry was rocking against him deliciously and it was everything that Louis had dreamed of for years and it was just a struggle to not put his hands on the older boy and pull him closer. But Louis didn’t want to be just another notch on Harry’s bed post, he wanted to be so much _more_ than that, and he knew that if he did this that’s _all_ he’d ever be. And even though every thing that he was feeling right then was so fucking good and his body was screaming at him to give in, he knew it wouldn’t be worth it in the end.

As Louis was struggling with his own thoughts, he didn’t notice the slender hand trailing slowly down his body, over his chest and past his stomach before landing on the growing bulge in his trousers, squeezing and rubbing a talented finger over his cloth covered length. With a startled gasp, he knew that he had to stop this right fucking now, because if he didn’t he wouldn’t ever be able to.

“H-harry…No.” He tried to push his hand away but he was still struggling with his self control and it ended up being a weak attempt.

Harry let out a low chuckle and it was obvious that he thought Louis was just nervous as he leaned forward, their lips almost touching. “S’okay, baby. I’ll take good care of you.” He nipped at Louis’ bottom lip teasingly, tugging on it gently before letting go.

Louis whimpered pathetically. He wanted nothing more than for Harry to take care of him in any way and _any-fucking-where_ he pleased but he knew he couldn’t and he was going to be wanking like there was no tomorrow as soon as he got out of there.

With a deep breath, he did his best at calming his nerves and forced his voice to steady itself out, mildly succeeding at having a firm tone. “No… Harry, I don’t…I don’t wanna do this.”

Harry stiffened for a moment, not sure if he’d heard him right, before pulling his hand away and leaning back. “What?” His brows were furrowed in confusion because he’d never had someone reject him before, but Louis was relieved to see that there was no trace of anger at all.

“I said…I don’t wanna do this.”

He cleared his throat, blinking slowly, coming to terms with what just happened before climbing off Louis’ lap and standing up. “Oh…uh, okay then.”

Louis didn’t know what to say then and it was so fucking _awkward_ and he really didn’t want to stay around to see how much more tense it could get. He also didn’t want to stay around to see Harry move on, find another partner for the night, because Louis was sure he would. So, without another word, he stood up and walked away briskly, headed straight for the door, left and didn’t look back.

————————————————————-

The next few weeks flew by and Louis still couldn’t stop thinking about Harry. He was embarrassed by how he reacted and was sure that he’d ruined any chances of ever getting close to Harry now, but he oddly still didn’t regret it. He knew that even if he would never get close to Harry, one night with him would’ve only made his infatuation deeper and any hope of him ever getting over the older boy would’ve be lost.

Aside from a few lingering glances from Harry as they passed each other in the school hallway, the next few weeks were fairly uneventful. Liam had finally gotten to the point where he no longer sent him pitying looks every time Harry was within seeing distance, which Louis was pretty happy about. He was really starting to grow aggravated by it. He didn’t need nor want Liam’s pity.

When he’d finally convinced himself that he hadn’t imagined it and gathered up the courage to tell Liam a few days after the party, Liam had just about fell off the couch in shock, mouth agape and a string of incomprehensible babbling falling from his mouth soon after. All Louis had been able to gather from it was multiple ‘what’s, along with a few curse words that Louis was convinced he’d imagined because Liam Payne did _not_ curse. After he’d finally collected himself, Liam had taken a few deep breaths and calmly asked Louis to explain exactly what had happened, and Louis did - each and every thing, along with why he’d rejected Harry, and how embarrassed he felt. Liam knew how badly and how long he had been crushing on Harry and he also knew how deflated Louis felt about having to decline Harry, without Louis even having to tell him. Since then, he’d been sending Louis his pathetic puppy dog ‘I’m sorry’ eyes every time Harry was within view. Louis appreciated it - he did, and he knew Liam was only doing it because he loved him and hated to see him hurting, and Louis knew that he was doing it out of the good of his heart, but Louis just didn’t want it. He wanted to forget that night ever happened and Liam was being a constant reminder of it, not allowing him to erase the humiliating memory from his mind.

He closed his locker and began walking in sync next to Liam, on the way to their 3rd hour class, home economics.

Liam pushed his bangs off his face, looking at Louis. “Did you hear about Mrs. Walker?”

“No…What about her?”

“Apparently her appendix ruptured last night and she was rushed into surgery.”

Louis looked at him, eyes widening before squinting in disbelief, mouth twisted to one side. “Are you sure?”

Liam merely shrugged. “I don’t know. Just what I heard. Guess we’ll find out.”

They entered the classroom then, walking to the back of the class and taking their seats. Looking around, Louis discovered that there was no Mrs. Walker in sight and, in fact, none of her usual things, such as her purse or binders that she took home every night, were in their typical spots. His brow furrowed in confusion. Could she really have had surgery the night before? She had seemed just fine the day before at school.

At that moment, the upper level class’s home economics teacher, Mrs. Mainord, walked in. She stood in front of the teacher’s desk, leaning against it and looking around, clearing her throat to get everyone’s attention. Once she had it, she crossed her arms over her chest and began speaking. “I’m sure you all have heard by now that Mrs. Walker was rushed to the hospital last night due to her appendix rupturing. She was put through surgery and she’s fine now, but she’s been put on bed rest, in order to heal. So she won’t be coming back for a few weeks. It was really sudden and so the school wasn’t able to get a substitute in time. Since it’s only a few weeks anyways, we’re just going to combine my class’s and hers.” A few of the students shifted nervously in their seats. “ I’ve already spoken to my students and I expect full cooperation out of them, as I do you. There will now be double of you and I need you all to _behave_. Got it?” She raised her eyebrows in question, looking around with a stern expression. They all nodded.

She walked over to the classroom door then, opening it and a flurry of students poured in, filling in every last available seat within the room. Louis and Liam shifted closer together without even noticing, a little apprehensive at the sudden change taking place within their class, seeking comfort within the familiar presence of one another.

Mrs. Mainord took up her previous position against the desk once everyone was seated. “For the next 2 weeks that we’re together, we’ll be doing a baking section. It’s fairly simple, but it’s going to involve some skill that the lower class has not yet acquired. So I want you all to pair up. I’ll let you choose, but I want it to be a pair of one lower class, one higher class student and I expect my higher class students to be patient with their partner. Don’t expect them to get everything right off the bat, alright?” After receiving confirmation from her students, she waved everyone off, gesturing for them all to choose their partners.

Immediately, the room was filled with students running about, obviously knowing who they wanted to be with and determined to choose them before someone else did. Louis and Liam merely stared at each other, not knowing what to do. They weren’t unpopular by any means, but they weren’t exactly friends with any of the upper class either.

Louis finally broke eye contact and looked around the room with a weary sigh, knowing he was going to have to find someone whether he liked it or not. His eyes immediately fell on a familiar girl with brunette ringlets fanning down over her shoulders. He grinned and waved vigorously, catching her eye before beckoning her over with a quick flick of his wrist.

He turned around to see Liam staring at him wide-eyed, mouth open in disbelief before closing and opening repeatedly, closely resembling a fish. Louis rolled his eyes. “Come on, mate. You can do this, eh? You talked to her for a whole night, didn’t you? S’not so bad, is it?”

Liam closed his eyes momentarily, taking a deep breath, and nodded. “No, I guess you’re right.”

“I know I am. Now get her number this time, alright?” He elbowed him teasingly. “I don’t wanna hear you complaining for another whole 2 weeks about how you don’t know how to contact her.”

Liam blushed. “I wasn’t that bad.”

Louis laughed. “Uh huh. Whatever you say, mate.” The dark haired girl was close to their table now, so Louis quickly hopped down from his stool, patting at it and gesturing to it while looking at her with a broad grin. She let out a lovely giggle and took up his previous spot without a moments hesitation. Upon seeing their shy smiles at one another, Louis knew that all would go okay and Liam could handle this by himself, so he turned around, returning to scanning the classroom in search of a victim. (Victim they will be, because Louis cant cook for anything and he _might_ accidentally catch them on fire)

His eyes ran across a group of upper classmen before quickly darting back, topaz blue meeting bright green before the curly haired boy smirked at him in recognition. Louis blushed, swiftly turning his head away and groaning inwardly at his luck. What are the odds that he would have home economics the same hour as Harry freakin Styles? The world must hate him.

Louis made his way to the other side of the room and sat down at a vacant table, keeping his back turned from where he could still feel Harry’s eyes burning in him. He prayed with everything in him that Harry would just stop looking at him and go back to whoever he was talking to so that Louis could pick his partner. He wanted these next 2 weeks to go by as quick as possible and hoped that Harry would take mercy on him and avoid him at all costs. If not, there was a lot of blushing, humiliating moments in his foreseeable future.

A hand on his shoulder brought Louis out of his inner turmoil and he turned around to find Harry beside him, lip quirked up in a smug expression, his eyes dancing in amusement. Louis fought back against the blush attempting to cover his cheeks, images of the last time they’d made contact rushing through his mind, and cleared his throat awkwardly. “Erm…Yeah?”

Harry placed a hand on the table, leaning on it with one hip pressed against the granite counter top. “Well…It just so happens that I’m in need of a partner. Thought you might be interested?” He tilted his head.

Louis lost the battle, a dark crimson blooming across his cheeks. Yup, the world hated him. Or maybe the world just _really_ loved him. He wasn’t sure yet. “Oh. Uh, yeah. Sure, sure.” He spoke out in a rush, his nerves evident in his voice.

Harry kindly chose to ignore it though and took the seat next to him, their knees brushing. They sat in silence for the next few minutes as the rest of the students in the class chose their partners, waiting for the chaos to calm down, and Louis stared down at his lap where he was fiddling with his hands awkwardly, not daring to look up at the boy who’d he’d had a crush on for as long as he could remember.

Once everyone had taken their seats by their newly chosen partner, Mrs. Mainord stood up from where she had previously been seated behind the teacher’s desk and began walking around the classroom as she spoke. “Today we’ll be doing cinnamon rolls. The needed materials are already at your assigned kitchens. We won’t be doing it from scratch, so it will only take today and tomorrow to finish this. Today is mostly just about getting to know your partner and becoming comfortable with each other. You will be with each other for the next few weeks and you will be graded on everything you do, so you must learn to work as a team.” She looked around the room, making sure that everyone had been paying attention and then nodded. “Okay then. Go.”

Louis and Harry both stood up, walking to their assigned kitchen. The instructions were posted up on the refrigerator and Harry tore it off, scanning his eyes down it. “Uh, okay. Well first it says we’re supposed to make the icing - which includes mixing some milk, powdered sugar, and vanilla.”

Louis nodded and Harry scooted over so he could open the refrigerator and retrieve the needed materials. After the ingredients were placed on the counter top, Louis turned to him, biting his lip nervously. “Um, I think I should tell you that….I mean, m’not very good at this, you know? I don’t even know why I took this class, I probably shouldn’t have. I understand if you want to switch partners, I won’t be offended - I promise. But if not…just…I hope you at least know what you’re doing and -” He shut up immediately, realizing he was rambling and closed his eyes in embarrassment.

He opened them back up upon the feel of a hand gently squeezing his forearm to see Harry staring at him. “I don’t want to switch partners, okay? You’ll be okay - we’ll be okay. I know what I’m doing. Don’t worry.” Harry smiled at him sweetly and Louis could feel that he was being genuine. His nerves immediately began to calm.

He took a deep, shaky breath, and returned the smile in full. “Okay.”

Harry nodded, dropping his hand, and looking back down at the list. “Alright, so you should mix that all together with amounts that it says.” He placed the list on the counter so that Louis could see. “And I’ll get out the dough sheet.”

Soon the icing was made, now waiting in the refrigerator until it was needed, the cinnamon covering formed, the dough sheet was coated in butter (which Harry had kindly given this job to Louis, claiming that he could _probably_ handle this one, to which Louis had _kindly_ given him a nice smack in the ribs) and soon sprinkled with layers of the cinnamon mixture, and then rolled up (which Harry had ended up being forced to do because Louis had claimed ‘I promise you I _will_ mess this up, please, for both of us’) and placed in the freezer, where it would remain until the next day.

Over all, it was a success in Louis’ opinion.

———————————————————————————————————-

The next week whizzed by in a dream-like state for Louis. He spent an hour of every day with his crush, which was soon becoming even more intense and Louis never even thought that was possible - but oh, it _was_. Harry was cheeky and really, _really_ funny. He was smooth and charming, but not in an overwhelming, cheesy way. He was kind and he was overly patient with Louis when it came to his cooking skills, never making him feel like a burden, laughing carelessly when he made a mistake, calming down and soothing his battered nerves. He was becoming surprisingly comfortable around Harry in such a short amount of time, no longer reduced to a nervous mess every time he so much as spoke. They had now even reached a point of occasional banter, elbowing and poking one another with teasing smiles - moments that made Louis’ heart flutter with hope because maybe his chance at becoming close to Harry _wasn’t_ completely lost.

Before he knew it, it was the next Monday and they were now working on making an apple pie. Louis was about to rip his hands out in frustration - he couldn’t stop messing up the dough and he didn’t know what he was doing wrong. “Ugh - Harry. Just do it. _Please_!”

Harry laughed and Louis suddenly wanted to punch him in the face for his unwavering patience. He walked up behind Louis, reaching around him to throw away the dough for the 3rd time that day. “No, Louis. You can do this. It’s okay. Just take a deep breath and calm down.”

Louis turned around, pouting in self irritation. “But…I _can’t_. Okay? And we have to do this. I don’t see why you can’t just do it. “

Harry sighed, crossing his arms and leaning up against the counter beside Louis, turning his head to look him in the eye. “Because….you can’t just give up. I _know_ you can do it. How about…” He bit his lip thoughtfully. “How about you come over to my house after school today? We can practice.”

Louis eyes widened slightly, his heart rate picking up. This had to be crossing some line, wasn’t it? Non-friends who just so happened to be working as partners in school didn’t usually go to each others houses, did they ? Of course they did. _Of course_ they did. Louis inwardly shook his head at his stupidity and how he would always freak out over nothing when it came to Harry. This was nothing. He had to stop trying to make something of it.

He cleared his throat, pushing down the knot that that had formed in it. “Yeah, yeah. We can do that.” He tilted his head, smiling. “Don’t know if it’ll help though.”

Harry chuckled, knocking their shoulders together. “Nahh, we’ll make some progress. Even if we don’t, at least we tried - right?”

———————————————————-

"We tried. Can we stop now?" Louis huffed, crossing his arms indignantly.

Harry rolled his eyes. “How about I help you this time?”

"But you _have_ been helping me!”

"No. I mean, _help_ you.” He made Louis turn around and walked up until he was standing right behind him, his chest pressed right up against Louis’ back, and reached both of his arms around him, pulling the dough to the edge of the counter. He placed his palms over the back of Louis’ hands, engulfing Louis’ smaller ones in his much larger ones, and placed his chin on Louis’ left shoulder so that he could clearly see what they were doing.

Louis swallowed, closing his eyes momentarily, trying to calm down his racing heart, thankful that Harry was behind him so he couldn’t fully see the way his face had turned a dark crimson at the other boy’s proximity. He opened his eyes, looking down at where Harry had now moved both of their hands to rest on the mound of dough, and nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”

He began to slowly move their hands over the dough, their hands grasping it, letting go, grasping it, letting go, making it firmer with every clench of their fingers. “The main problem is that you want to knead it too fast, but you can’t do that. Alright?” His breath fanned out gently over Louis’ neck, his chin, the side of his face, sending an involuntary shiver down his spine, and he could only nod meekly in response.

They had been standing there for a few minutes, kneading the dough together gently, Harry’s hands guiding Louis’, when suddenly a high pitched squeal was heard, soon followed by the slamming of a door. Harry backed away, walking to the edge of the kitchen and peeking around the doorway curiously. A little girl was soon attached to his legs, clinging on for dear life, yelling “Harry, Harry!!”, and grinning cutely in excitement. Louis recognized her as the girl from the backyard, the one who’d been playing with his hair.

Harry crouched down to her level, pulling her up against his chest and running his fingers through her dark, shoulder length curls. “Hey, sweetie. Where’s mum at?”

The little girl pointed towards the door, looking up at him with wide, innocent, green eyes that closely resembled Harry’s own.

Harry stood up then, bringing her with him to rest on one of his hips, an arm under her. He walked up to Louis, stopping a few feet in front of him. “Louis, this is Abigail.” He looked back at the little girl. “Abby, this is Louis. Say hi.”

She leaned her head on Harry’s shoulder, hiding half of her face, and grinned at him shyly, letting out a quiet “hi.”

Louis grinned broadly at how unbelievingly adorable she was and waved at her. “Hi, Abby. It’s nice to meet you.”

She giggled softly and brought her head up to look at him fully, sending him a gap toothed smile. She looked like she was about to say something before her eyes caught on a distraction behind Louis’ head, her eyes lighting up. She turned to Harry. “Harry?”

He smiled at her sweetly. “Yes, bug?”

She looked the perfect image of innocence, twisting her hands together where they were resting on his shoulder. “Can I have a cookie?”

He pretended to think for a moment. “Okaay. But only if you _promise_ to be good for Mum for the rest of the day, and listen if she tells you to do something.”

She nodded enthusiastically, her small curls bobbing along her shoulders. “Pwomise.”

He reached around Louis, plucking a cookie out of the cookie jar resting against the wall, and giving it to her. She took it gratefully, taking a bite immediately, and mumbling around a mouthful of cookie “tanks bubby.”

He gave her a look as if about to chastise her, but ended up smiling at her instead. “You’re welcome.”

He set her down on the floor just as a woman walked in to the kitchen, letting out a strangled “Harry! What did I tell you about giving her sweets before dinner?”

Harry rolled his eyes, walking up to her and embracing her in a hug. “Come on, Mum. Like you can ever say no to her.”

She was gorgeous and if Louis was into girls at all, he’d definitely be hitting on her - Harry’s mom or not. But as he wasn’t, she was just very, very pretty. Louis could see where Harry got his good looks from.

“I can say no to her more than you can though. You spoil her too much.” Her words sounded chastising, but her tone spoke of adoration as she ruffled his curls playfully, a small smile gracing her lips.

Harry simply shrugged, not even attempting to deny it and not appearing to regret it at all.

His mother eye’s caught sight of Louis. “Who’s your friend?”

“Oh! Louis, this is my mum, Anne. Mum, this is Louis. He’s in my home economics class and he’s rubbish at cooking, so we had to resort to practicing here.”

Louis flushed slightly in embarrassment, walking up to her and sticking out a hand, which she immediately took, shaking it. “Nice to meet you, Anne. And I’m not _that_ bad.”

She rolled her eyes, smiling at him pleasantly. “I’m sure you aren’t, sweetie. Harry just likes to be a bully.”

Harry scrunched his nose up, elbowing her playfully. “Am not.”

She waved her hand at him. “Whatever you say, hun. I’m going to take Abby up for a nap though and then read a little. You two have fun, okay? You know where I am if you need me.” He nodded and she leaned in, pecking him on the cheek before leaning down to pick up Abby, settling her against her side. “Nice to meet you, Louis. You should come around more often.”

Louis didn’t really know how to respond to that, not sure if Harry would even want him to, so he merely nodded, smiling, and letting out a quiet “You too” before she left the room.

——————————————————————-

By Thursday, it’d become a habit to go to Harry’s every day after school to practice without even needing to talk about it. And Louis was improving, much to his surprise - Harry was a good teacher and he knew his way around a kitchen.

Louis was also beginning to see a whole other side to Harry. He was very close to his family; a devoted son and brother. His mom came home every day and always received a smile in welcome, they bantered more like siblings, Harry was always doing things without her even having to ask him to, and he never shied away from her ‘love you’s or pet names or cheek pinches or her hair ruffles like most sons did, he seemed to bask in it.

And he was completely enamored by Abigail, as she was by him. He had no self will when it came to her, giving in to her every whim as soon as he was faced with her puppy dog eyes and child-like grin. She’d return home every day and immediately run to him, demanding ‘hug, bubby, hug!’, to which he’d gratefully comply. She’d taken notice of Louis reoccurrence everyday and so now, although she was still excited to see him, whenever Louis would hug Harry before leaving (something that had become routine for them without even thinking about it and sent a shiver of delight down Louis’ spine every time they did) she would always slap him lightly on the leg, arms crossed and lips pouted dramatically, whining ‘mine, mine, mine! Bubby mine!’, to which Louis would laugh because before she’d even finish, Harry would have her swept up in his arms, peppering her face with kisses, mumbling ‘yours, bug, yours’, until she was giggling uncontrollably. And before Louis left, she’d always give in, yelling she wanted a Louis hug too and Louis would always break out in to an uncontrollably large grin. He was beginning to become enamored by her as well. It was hard not to - she was adorable.

A different side of Harry was revealed when he was at home, completely different from the impression of him that everyone at school seemed to have. Louis knew that there was more to Harry, he’d always known. But he’d never expected _this_ \- he’d never expected Harry to be so kind and considerate and patient and funny and laid back and _perfect_. Because that’s what he was. He was perfect in Louis’ eyes. He could still see the flick of doubt in Harry’s eyes whenever Louis would joke about how every one wanted him though, he could tell that he wasn’t confident in it. And it broke Louis’ heart. He wanted Harry to see how amazing he was, he wanted Harry to see himself how _Louis_ saw him - but he didn’t know how to without making his feelings evident and embarrassing himself.

They were currently relaxing idly in the kitchen, waiting for the first layer of their cake to finish baking. As much as Louis tried to push it back, the fact that tomorrow was their last day as partners and that there was a chance that this would be the last time he would be at Harry’s house was at the forefront of his mind. He wanted to make a last attempt at breaking down some of Harry’s wall, to try and get closer to him. He’d become increasingly more comfortable around him in the past week, to the point where he didn’t think twice before saying or doing something, knowing Harry wouldn’t judge him for being himself. He still got butterflies around him and blushed every now and then, but that was to be expected. It was because of this that the next words escaped his mouth with ease. “Harry, why do you party so much?”

Harry looked up from where he was doodling on a notebook that was placed on the counter, eyebrows raised. “What?”

Louis walked over until he stood next to him, one elbow resting on the counter, hip slanted to one side. “Just…I mean, I come here and you just seem so _different_ from how I expected you to be, you know? If I hadn’t known you before this, I would’ve never expected you to be the partying type. Not to the extent that you are anyways.”

Harry dropped his pencil and turned his body to face Louis, mirroring his stance, and shrugged, not meeting Louis’ eyes, looking at his shoulder instead. “I like partying. It’s fun.”

Louis titled his head. “Really? You don’t seem too convinced of that.”

Harry swallowed, nibbling on his bottom lip.

When it became evident he wasn’t going to say anything, Louis placed his hand on the older boy’s arm, squeezing gently, causing Harry’s eyes to finally lift up and meet his. “You can talk to me, you know? It’s okay.”

Harry sighed and nodded his head. “Yeah…It’s just - I got caught in this cycle, I guess? I started sleeping around and partying as soon as I knew how and I did like it then, thrived on it. As time went on though, it just got kind of old…I mean, I still loved the attention - I _still_ love the attention I get from it, who wouldn’t? It just…wasn’t the same any more though, but by that point it’s what I was known for. It’s what people expected of me. And I just…gave in, I guess. I don’t know what else to be.” He merely shrugged again, attempting an air of nonchalance. looking somewhere behind Louis’ head.

Louis smiled gently. “Be yourself? It seems just fine to me.”

Harry eyes immediately darted back to Louis’, a sudden seriousness filling them, the air stilling around them. Louis mouth suddenly felt dry, his heart pounding in his chest and he was sure Harry could hear it, though he showed no signs of it, just staring at Louis as if he was just really seeing him for the first time.

Their intense look was broken by the shrill blare of the stove alarm and Harry’s eyes widened slightly before he quickly turned around, pulling on a oven mitt and opening the stove door. He looked at Louis, face void of all emotion from moments ago, and smiled carelessly. “It’s done.”

Louis forced a smile on his face and nodded. “Good.” He knew the moment was gone and his heart deflated in disappointment.

—————————————————————————

“Mrs. Walker will be back next week, so this is our last day together. But I want you all to know that it was a pleasure having you.” Mrs. Mainord smiled, beginning to walk around the classroom, setting papers on people’s desks. “And I’m happy with all the effort you all have to put in. I hope you are too.”

She walked by Louis and Harry’s desk, dropping a paper packet down on it before continuing on to the next group. Harry quickly picked it up, moving it so that Louis could see it too, and they both grinned at the big ‘A+’ scribbled in red marker at the top. “Guess your rubbish cooking skills didn’t completely fail us after all.” Harry raised both brows, eyes widened, pretending to be shocked.

Louis scowled, kicking him in the shin. “Fuck you.”

Harry didn’t seem too affected by the hit, even though Louis had actually put a little force into it, and merely smirked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, making an approving noise in the back of his throat. “Hmm?”

Louis flushed immediately, deep red filling his cheeks and spreading to the tips of his ears, caught off guard. “Uhh-umm.”

Harry laughed, throwing his head back. “Calm down, Lou. I’m just messin’ with you.” He stood up off his stool and leaned down to pick up his bag. “You’re still comin’ to my house today, right?”

Louis paused in his attempt to follow in suit of Harry and get off his stool, his foot half way to the floor. A large part of him had feared that after this, Harry would just want to go back to as they were before, when they didn’t acknowledge each other at all. “Uh, what?”

He slung the bag over his shoulder, quirking an eyebrow. “What? Do you have somewhere better to be?”

His feet now flat on the floor, he grabbed the graded paper, stuffing it in his bag. “No. Just - yeah, I’ll be there.”

Harry smiled. “Great.”

——————————————————————-

They were relaxing on Harry’s couch that night, stuffing their faces with nachos and making fun of just about every cheesy horror film they’d ever watched, when Harry’s cell phone rang. He picked it up, looking at it briefly before answering. “Hey, Nialler. Whats up?….Oh, yeah?….Maybe….I just mean I’ll get back to you on it….Yeah, yeah, I will….Alright, text you in a bit.” He hung up, stuffing the mobile device back in his pocket.

“What‘d he want?”

“Josh is having a party tonight. You wanna go?”

“Oh. Um, not really? I’d kind of rather just stay in.”

Harry’s brows furrowed. “Really?”

“Yeah, just not really in a partying mood.” That wasn’t entirely true, Louis just didn’t want to have to stand by and see Harry hook up with someone else. But he wasn’t going to tell Harry that. Harry had been with him every day this week though, and while he didn’t know if Harry usually partied during the week, he figured he probably did - so he had kept him from it all week long. He was surely itching to go and party by now. Louis realized how selfish he was being and made to stand up. “You should go though. S’fine. We can hang out later.”

Harry placed his hand on his forearm, effectively stopping him from standing. “No, Lou. We can just hang out here.” He settled back in the cushions.

“But -”

“I _want_ to, okay?” He slung his legs over Louis’ lap, popping another nacho in his mouth.

Louis grinned happily and nodded, turning back to what they’d been previously watching on the tv. He wasn’t sure how much longer it was until he felt Harry’s eyes on him and wondered how long they’d been there. He turned to find Harry staring at him with the same look as days before in the kitchen, as if just seeing him for the first time. The tips of Louis’ ears turned pink from the intensity of it. “What?”

Harry rested his cheek on the back of the couch, never breaking eye contact. “Nothing really…S’just - not many people do that, ya know?”

“Do what?”

“Wanna just hang out - not with _me_. Mostly everyone who comes to me, comes for the sole purpose of a party.” He lifted a shoulder briefly before letting it drop again. “…S’nice.” He smiled.

Louis’ heart broke at the sincerity on his face, in his eyes. He wanted to tell him what shit people were for not wanting to, how amazing he was, how funny and charming and perfect he was, how he deserved to have the whole world at his feet, begging for a chance to merely be in his presence, but he settled for a simple “Well, that’s shit, Haz. They sure are missing out.”

Harry’s smile widened, a very light, rare blush blooming across his cheeks, and wrapped his arm Louis’ waist, laying his head on his shoulder and cuddling up against his side. “At least I have you, Lou.”

Louis’ heart skipped a beat then, his breath catching, but thankfully Harry didn’t seem to notice. He rested his head on top of Harry’s, thinking ‘no, at least I have _you_.’


	2. Chapter 2

It was exactly 2 weeks later and they found themselves at Harry’s house once again. They’d been hanging out constantly for the few past weeks, playing multiple games of FIFA and consuming more junk food than should be allowed. Although Harry still partied and always invited Louis, he politely declined every time and Harry never pushed it. He considered Harry a very close friend now and, since Harry had given him no reason to believe he didn’t feel the same, he was no longer insecure in the stability of their relationship. His feelings for Harry were growing with the passing of each day, but he was still scared to make a move for fear of rejection and had convinced himself that he was perfectly content to stay as they were.

An innocent game of FIFA soon turned into a playful wrestle on the floor, rolling around laughing as they each struggled to gain the upper hand. Harry held Louis’ hands against the floor, straddling his thighs and effectively pinning him down. “Whatchu gonna do now?!”

Louis squirmed beneath him, unsuccessfully trying to pull his hands away. “Get off me!! You tetra titted tosser!!”

Harry cocked his head, eyes dancing in amusement. “What?”

“You know…tetra titted…’cause you’re a freak and have 4 nipples.” He snickered.

The older boy squinted his eyes. “Really? That’s the best you’ve got, _Boobear_?”

Louis scowled, wishing he‘d never overheard his mum call him the embarrassing nickname. “Suck my dick!”

Harry smirked then, leaning down until their chests were touching, his face so close that Louis’ could feel his breath fanning out over his cheeks as he whispered “When and where?”

He groaned in annoyance, unable to stop a faint pink from dusting over his cheeks, and, with a lot of effort, managed to push Harry off, sending him flailing to the floor beside him with a surprised ‘umph’ before climbing over him and pinning his hands to the floor by his head, their roles switched. “Stop fucking taking everything so literal, you twat!!”

Harry laughed. “You’re so cute, Lou. Really. You know I only do it because I know it gets to you.”

He rolled his eyes. “Whatever. It’s not like other people don’t get all weird whenever you say stuff like that to them. You seem to have that affect on people. Why don’t you go bother them instead?”

He merely shrugged, as much as he could with his hands still pinned above him anyways. “Yeah, but you’re different.”

“Why’s that?”

“Cause….they blush because I’m Harry Styles. You blush because….well, because I’m _me_. And I don‘t know…’s just different.”

Louis floundered, not sure what to say because was Harry really saying that he knew that Louis liked him? And talking about it casually?

His mouth twisted in displeasure “Okay, I realize how weird that sounded now. Probably didn’t even make sense.”

Louis willed himself back to life, shaking his head. “No, no. I get what you mean….Uh, thanks?”

Before Harry could reply, his phone buzzed to life in his pocket, vibrating against Louis’ thigh and causing him to jerk and let Harry’s hands go in surprise. Harry chuckled, fishing the device quickly out of his pocket and peering down at the screen. “Oh. Zayn’s just having a party.”

Within the past few weeks, Louis had hung out with Zayn and Niall a few times, when they’d happened to swing by while he was at Harry’s. He liked them well enough. Niall was care free and laughed at everything and was honestly one of the friendliest people Louis had ever met. Zayn was more laid back and calm, but he was nice and Louis liked him too. He’d always declined Harry’s invitations to party, so he could tell that Harry expected the same now, as he made no move to get up or ask Louis if he wanted to go. But it was at Zayn’s house and, for some odd reason, that made Louis more okay with the idea. “Well, then let’s go.”

Harry looked up from where he’d been texting back. “What?”

Louis placed his hands on Harry’s chest, shaking him slightly. “Let’s go paarty! Woo-hoo!!” He moved his hips in a circle for emphasis, dancing.

Harry dropped the phone on the carpeted floor, grunting and gripping Louis’ hips in his hands, stilling them. “First of all, you’re currently on my dick. So can you please not do that? Second, I thought you didn’t like parties?”

“I never said I didn’t like parties. I just don’t usually go to them. But I want to now.” He stood up, reaching a hand out for Harry to grab. “So let’s go.”

————————————————————————————-

The party had been in full swing for over an hour now and there were already groups of bodies everywhere; people snogging against walls, throwing up in Zayn’s mum’s potted plants. Louis’ hadn’t expected Harry to stay by him, he’d expected the opposite if he was honest. This was Harry’s scene and he expected him to go about his normal routine, flirting and picking out his choice for the night. And though Harry had strayed off into the crowd a few times, he surprisingly never kept away for long.

He had wondered off not 5 minutes ago and so Louis was now currently by himself, leaning against an upstairs lounge wall, patting his leg to the beat of the music playing.

“Hey…” He looked over to a dark haired boy leaning against the wall beside him, arms crossed, looking at him in interest. “I’ve never seen you before…What’s your name?”

He smiled kindly. “Louis. Yours?”

“Stan…” He continued to stare at him, moving closer and smirking. “Is this your first party?”

Louis cleared his throat awkwardly, becoming slightly uncomfortable under his penetrating gaze. “Um, no. I just don’t go to them a lot.”

Stan only nodded. “You here alone?”

“Uhh -”

He felt an arm slipping around his waist then. “No, he’s not.” The voice was firm, making his meaning clear. _Go away_.

He looked up to find Harry glaring intensely at the dark haired boy. Stan sneered before turning and walking away, mumbling “fucking prick.”

Louis looked up at Harry in slight confusion and Harry sighed. “Sorry about that, Lou. Zayn didn’t want him to come, he wasn’t supposed to be here.”

“Who is he?”

“He’s just someone who tends to hang around at parties a lot, bit of a loner. He’s uh…not the nicest person. He didn’t say anything too bad, did he?”

Louis shrugged. “No, not really. I mean, he’s a tad weird. But no.”

Harry moved his hand from Louis’ waist, instead choosing to lean it against the wall beside him. “Good…So are you having fun?”

Louis nodded.

“You haven’t danced yet.”

“So?”

“So you seem to be really into dancing, as you decided to so kindly demonstrate earlier. I don’t see why you haven’t. “

Louis shrugged. “Eh.”

“Why are you over here being such a loser?”

Louis twisted his nose indignantly. “What? I’ve been socializing this whole time, I’ll have you know!”

The taller boy sniggered at his reaction. “Don’t be a little wall flower. Come dance with me.” He pouted, batting his eyelashes dramatically. “Pwease?”

Louis huffed. “ _Fine_. If you insist.”

“I do,” he chirped, promptly grabbing Louis’ hand and pulling him out on to the floor.

There weren’t a ton of people crowded into this room, so they were allowed a sufficient amount of space between them. Harry rested his hands lazily on Louis’ sides and began to jerk his hips, throwing his head from side to side in an almost head bang, his curls flopping with the movements, his lips pouched out in mock seriousness.

Louis giggled, swatting lightly at his chest before going to move away. “Okay, if _that’s_ how you dance, I’m sorry, but I can’t be seen with you.”

Harry pulled him back, his brows creased in faux hurt. “Well I’m glad we’re finally getting this all out in the open. Now I know how you really feel about me.”

Louis rolled his eyes before placing his hand on his chest, his voice raising in pitch. “Oh, _Harold_.” He pretended to flip his non-existent long hair over one shoulder. “You know I was only joking, I’d never leaveyou.”

Harry dropped the pretense, grinning fondly and pulling the smaller boy closer to him so that there were now only a few inches between them. “True. I mean, how could you? Just _look at this_.” He gestured down to his body.

“Modest, I see.”

Harry’s grin widened and he hummed in agreement. “Well, since you dissed _my_ dance moves, I think it’s only fair that you show me _yours_. I just _know_ you were holding out on me last time.”

Louis quirked a brow, lips twitching in amusement. “How so?”

“Well.” He began to inch his hands around Louis’ body. “You’ve got a  _mighty_ fit arse on you, if I do say so myself.” He used both hands to firmly squeeze said body part and then patted it playfully, smirking once Louis let out a startled squeal. “I’m sure you know how to put it to good use.”

Louis blushed, batting his hands away and glaring at him slightly. “Don’t touch the merchandise.”

Harry only stared at him expectantly, the smirk never leaving his face.

The beginning of Make It Nasty started to flow out of the speakers, causing Harry to laugh and Louis to only glare harder. “Come on, Lou. It’s practically meant to be now.”

Louis huffed. “Mmm, okay. Fine.” Without another word, he turned around, closing his eyes for a brief moment, inhaling heavily through his mouth, exhaling slowly through his nose, trying to get his confidence together. He knew he wasn’t a bad dancer, he’d been told that _many_ times. He may look like a bit of a girl at times, as his friends so loved to point out, but even they couldn’t deny that he looked hot while doing it.

He shook his hands out, willing himself to forget the fact that the boy he’d been crushing on for as long as he could remember was standing behind him watching what he was about to do. With a final shaky breath, he began to let the rhythm flow through him, allowing the music to take control of him. He lifted his hands above his head, his hips jerking in time with the music, the firm flesh of his ass shaking with the motion. Harry was silent behind him, and he didn’t dare turn around for the fear of disapproval, still trying to push the fact that he was watching from his mind.

Once it got to the chorus, he dropped to the floor, touching his toes and beginning to slowly straighten his legs out, pushing back so that his ass was pressed against Harry’s body the whole time. He finally looked back once he was fully up and couldn’t help but to laugh upon seeing that Harry was practically glaring at him now, only egging him on further. He merely shrugged, giving him a look as if to say ‘You did this to yourself’ before jerking back up into a standing position and promptly turning around unexpectedly, aligning their bodies flush against each other. Harry’s eyes widened slightly, his hands hanging tensely at his sides. “Uh, Lou…”

Louis ignored him and began to slink his way down his body, swaying in time with the music still so as to rub against him teasingly. Once he was crouched all the way down, he slowly made his back up, letting his nose skim across the inside of his thigh as he did so. Their faces now facing one another, Harry let out a heavy breath. “Louis, I think that’s good enough.”

Louis pouted. “But _why_? Harry. Come on, don’t be such a downer.” A smirk etched across his face once Harry began to glare at him at that, catching on to the double meaning.

Without waiting for a proper response, Louis started to circle around his body, stopping once his chest was pressed against Harry’s back. He began to gently rock against him to the beat, trailing his hands across the expanse his chest and downward, settling them on his upper thighs.

The next thing he knew Harry was turned around facing him, both of his wrists firmly in the older boy’s grip. He looked up, gulping nervously at the darkened eyes staring intensely at him. Louis knew then that he’d gotten too carried away, and he felt immensely stupid for doing so. But he’d honestly figured it wouldn’t make a difference anyways. I mean, this was _Harry Styles_ we’re talking about here. The boy who had people throwing themselves at him on a regular basis, who’d slept with so many people he probably couldn’t even remember half of them, the boy who was known as a sex god to the entire school population. He’d figured that, because of this, he’d have some really strong self control and that it’d take much more than a teasing dance to get him even a little excited. Apparently not.

The older boy leaned forward, never breaking eye contact, and nipped at his bottom lip, breathing hotly over the skin. “Harry…” Louis whispered, his heart beating away frantically in his chest.

At that, Harry surged forward, pressing their lips together, promptly darting his tongue inside as Louis let out a startled gasp, causing his mouth to open in access. Louis could only stand there and let Harry assault him, frozen in shock. His back hit the wall before he’d even realized that they had been walking backward, urged gently by the boy attached to him. The press of the cool surface against his back seemed to shake him out of his haze and he began to respond back fervently, pulling his hand’s from Harry’s grasp and tugging harshly at his shirt, using it to pull him even closer.

Harry shoved him even further forward so that he was now squished tightly between the taller boy and the wall, every part of their bodies compressed tightly against one another. He trailed a hand down Louis’ body, clasping the back of his knee and using it to pull his leg up until it was align with his hip. He slowly retreated it back up, cupping his bottom and using it for leverage as he began to purposefully grind against him, moving his hips back a few inches, only to buck them forward again.

Louis hummed lowly in the back of his throat in approval, sucking hungrily on his tongue. A fire soon began to course through him, the blaze settling low in his stomach, every thrust of the older boy’s hips sending a burst of warmth up through his body.

Harry finally pulled back, lips still lightly grazing Louis’. “Are you gonna freak out again if I touch you?” he whispered hoarsely.

Louis shook his head rapidly “Touch me, Harry. _Please_ ,” he whimpered pathetically, wrapping his leg fully around Harry’s waist, attempting to push their hips closer together.

Harry merely nodded, breathing heavily. “Not here though.” Without another word, he pulled away, grabbing Louis’ hand and using it to pull him down the hallway.

Louis let himself be dragged along, his mind whirling with the sudden change in events, barely taking in his surrounding because holy fuck, was this really happening? The next thing he knew he was being swiftly flung to the top of a bed, his head bouncing off the pillows. He looked down as the room was bathed in light, the door closing, the lock turning with a soft ’click’. Harry spun around and instantly made his way to the bed. He began to crawl up on it towards Louis on his hands and knees, all joking from earlier vanished from his expression, his eyes darkened with lust, pupils blown.

Louis’ breath caught in his throat at the look in the older boy’s eyes, caught off guard by the intensity of his gaze. He was a little intimidated by it, but also intrigued, excited to see what would come of it.

Once Harry had made his way up, Louis lying completely under him, he moved his hands down the smaller boy’s body, clutching the back of his knees again and using them to spread his legs so that he could easily slot between them, pushing down so that Louis’ could feel how hard he was. He brought a hand back up and grabbed a handful of Louis’ hair, yanking his head back so that the full column of his throat was exposed. Harry promptly dipped his head down, clamping the soft skin roughly between two rows of teeth before letting it go at Louis’ grunt of discomfort, lapping and licking at the hastily reddening skin, soothing it with his tongue. He then began to suck harshly at the already sore and overly sensitive flesh, causing Louis to let out a series of deep, rugged breaths, stuck in a limbo between pain and pleasure.

Louis was so distracted by the pair of lips attached to his neck that he didn’t pay attention to what Harry’s other hand was doing, letting out a broken moan as he was cupped firmly in the other boy’s hand. Harry ran a teasing finger down the outline of his length, rubbing him thoroughly through the thin fabric.

Louis pushed Harry’s head away, causing his lips to detach with an audible sucking sound, instantly pulling him back and pressing their mouths together again, running the tip of his tongue across the curly haired boy’s plump bottom lip and sucking on it greedily, eliciting a low moan out of Harry, who allowed him to maintain control for a few moments before swiftly gaining it back, slipping his tongue into the younger boy’s mouth and exploring the wet crevices of it fervently.

Harry drew back and started wrenching Louis’ shirt open, popping the buttons apart, sucking and biting at the newly exposed skin, leaving red marks and wet, already beginning to bruise spots in his wake. Once it was all the way open, he hauled Louis up, tugging his shirt off before shoving him back down to the bed and tossing his own shirt off to join Louis’ on the floor, revealing the golden expanse of his chest and taunt skin stretched over his lean abdomen, the muscles moving beneath the skin as he leaned back down. Louis bit his lip at the sight, throwing his hands out to run them down the tight flesh fervidly.

“Wanna touch you.” Louis made to undo Harry’s jeans but was instantly stopped by the older boy who batted his hands away before holding them both together against the bed above Louis‘ head. “ _Harry_.” Louis let out a quiet whine, trying to yank his hands out of his grasp. “Wanna touch you,” he repeated.

Harry only shook his head in response, nipping lightly at his jaw line. He brought one of his hands down, the other one still holding both of Louis’ above his head, using it to briskly undo Louis’ own jeans before slipping it inside under the material of his boxers, wrapping it firmly around the younger boy’s length.

Louis let out a choked moan at the feel of the warm, large hand surrounding him. Harry swiped his thumb across the tip, dragging his palm slowly up and down the shaft.

He pressed his lips roughly against Louis’ again, pulling away moments later to suck at a spot right below his jaw line. “Gonna make you feel so good,” He whispered, breathing heavily. With that, he promptly pulled back, grasping the top of Louis’ pants and yanking both the jeans and boxers down his legs before throwing them somewhere behind him. He leaned back on his haunches, languidly sliding his eyes down Louis’ body, observing the view in front of him.

Louis’ struggled not to blush and cover himself up. He wasn’t self conscience of his body by any means, but this was _Harry_ and he’d been with a lot of people. He was bound to have seen a quite a few really fit ones, and Louis couldn’t help but to think of how he must compare to them.

Harry groaned, biting his lip and running the tips of his fingers up the inside of Louis’ legs. “God, you’re so fucking hot, Lou.” He swiftly climbed off the bed and slid down so that his knees were on the floor, his torso pressed against the side of the mattress and clasped Louis’ legs, tugging him down to the edge so that his knees were hanging off, spread out on either side of the older boy’s body. He slowly skimmed his nose along the inside of his thigh. “Can’t wait to taste you.”

Louis’ eyes widened. “Wha-”

Harry took the head of Louis’ cock in his mouth, encompassing him in the wet warmth, flicking his tongue rapidly over the tip before pulling away moments later and leisurely caressing the insides of the younger boy’s upper legs.

Louis whined, clutching the sheets in his fists. “Don’t be a fucking tease.”

The curly haired boy smirked smugly before dipping his head back down, swiftly taking in over half of his length and wrapping a hand around the base, attending to what he couldn’t currently reach and sucking vigorously.

Louis mewled, carding a hand through Harry’s curls, raking his nails across his scalp and tugging gently, eliciting a low moan out of the older boy, his eyelids fluttering. Louis felt the vibration travel through his dick, causing a shiver to run down his spine and he reflected a loud moan back. Harry took note of this and began to hum quietly, swirling his tongue around the head, twisting his hands along the bottom.

Louis was soon a blabbering, panting mess, a constant stream of moans spewing from his lips as he began to feel the familiar up-build coil in his stomach. Harry suddenly relaxed his throat, taking all of him in, his nose brushing against the skin at the base of his cock, hallowing his cheeks out. Louis gasped, his back arching in pleasure at the feeling of him hitting the back of the older boy’s throat. His muscles tensed, pleasure shooting through his veins, th-

Harry promptly pulled off, allowing Louis to slip from his mouth. The smaller boy whimpered at the loss, his almost climax leaving him shaken. “ _Harry_ ,” he whined in protest.

Harry merely peered up at him lewdly, licking the taste of him off his lips. He stood up and quickly shucked his pants off, fishing a condom and packet of lube from the pocket before tossing them down on the floor.

Louis could only stare in captivation, his chest rising and falling in tune with his rapid breaths, as the other boy revealed himself in all in his glory. He wondered idly if there was one single flaw on Harry, because so far he’d found none. He had the biggest urge to run his hands and mouth all over him, to make himself familiar with every inch of skin. Without warning, he leaned up and grabbed hold of Harry’s arm before he could try and move away, jerking him roughly down on top of him. Harry moved back off straight away and Louis growled in frustration. “If you don-”

The older boy only moved them up to the head of the head before lowering himself back down so that their bodies were aligned and promptly shut Louis up with his mouth, kissing him hard. Louis instantly began to move his hands over every part of Harry’s body he could reach, groping and caressing the flesh fervently.

A shiver of pleasure ran down Harry’s spine at the other’s thorough touch. Louis began to smooth his hand down his stomach, fully intending to grab ahold of him, but Harry only batted his hand away once more, moving them completely away from him. Louis growled again, pulling away from their lip lock. “Let me touch you.”

Harry merely shook his head. “We don’t have time for that.” He kissed him again briefly. “Just wanna be inside you,” he whispered gruffly.

Louis couldn’t find it in himself to object to that, because he was aching for the exact same thing. So he only nodded meekly. “Yeah, okay.”

Harry leaned up and set the condom on the duvet, ripping the lube packet open and spreading the cool gel over his fingers on one hand before returning to his previous position, tilting his body slightly so that he could reach said hand down between Louis’ spread legs.

He brushed against his opening lightly and Louis shuddered at the sensation. He traced the edge of the smaller boy’s hole briefly before penetrating it slowly with a long, slender finger, going knuckle deep.

“Nngh,” Louis panted, clutching onto Harry’s shoulder with one hand and a fistful of sheets with the other.

Harry began to pump in and out, steadily increasing the pace and swiftly adding another finger once he felt he was ready for it. He scissored the two, stretching him out, preparing him for what was to come. He curled his fingers, twisting his wrist until he brushed up against the bundle of nerves inside him, eliciting a loud moan out of the younger boy as he began to rock down on Harry’s hand vigorously.

“More,” Louis whimpered and Harry quickly complied, joining another finger with the two, his digits slightly overlapping each other in the confined space.

He kept this up for some time, showing no sign of stopping, until Louis’ forehead was glistening with sweat, the smaller boy growing agitated and growling out a guttural “fuck me already.”

Harry didn’t need to be told twice, promptly leaning back on his haunches between the younger boy’s legs and rolling the condom on, squeezing what was left of the lube out and lathering his cock up thoroughly with it. He clutched Louis’ hip with one hand, wrapping the other around his base, using it to help guide himself in. He eased himself in slowly, enveloping himself in the snug heat. He groaned. “Fuck, you’re so tight.”

The younger boy gripped the headboard, grunting as he was stretched around Harry‘s abnormally large length, a hint of pain mixing with the pleasure, sending his head reeling. Once Harry was all the way in, he paused, giving Louis time to adjust. “It’s okay.” Louis finally said, nodding his head once in confirmation.

Harry’s only response was to fully pull out before swiftly plunging back in, eliciting a loud moan out of both of them at the sheer pleasure. He began to thrust in and out, setting up a steady, fast rhythm. After a few minutes, he clasped the back of one of Louis’ knees, lifting his leg up and changing the angle so that his cock pressed firmly against the smaller boy’s prostate with each forward movement of his hips.

Louis’ gripped the headboard harder with both hands, his nails digging into the wood, back arching and eyelashes fluttering, mouth agape in a silent scream of elation. Harry only increased his pace, sending the younger boy into a whirlwind of pleasure, his eyes rolling backwards in ecstasy. They were soon both panting heavily, a thin film of sweat covering their bodies. Louis let out a choked sob. “Harry, please.”

Harry leaned forward, kissing him as he wrapped a hand around Louis’ cock, thumbing the head and giving it a firm tug. Louis keened loudly, seeing stars as his orgasm hit him with the force of a train, coating both of their upper bodies thickly. After a few more jerky thrusts, Harry came with a grunt, his fluids filling up the condom. He allowed himself to relax on top of Louis‘ body, going boneless as they both lay panting, trying to catch their breath.

He finally pulled out, tying the top of the condom before tossing it into the trashcan by the bed. After wiping both of them down with a tissue and tossing that too, he lied down beside Louis on the bed silently, a sufficient amount of space between the two.

Louis was still reeling from his climax, struggling to come to terms with what just happened. He was debating on whether or not to move closer, not sure if Harry was the cuddling type, when a strong arm was wrapped around his shoulders, pulling him closer. Harry pulled him until his head was resting on his chest and sighed contently before allowing his eyes to flutter closed without another word. Louis couldn’t help but to smile and snuggled closer. He lied there awake for a while just thinking before allowing his eyes to flutter closed too, joining Harry in sleep.

When he woke up, Harry was gone.

——————————————————————-

The days following didn’t go as Louis expected at all. The first few days Harry seemed to ignore him completely, never returning his texts or calls. On the 3rd day, when he finally did respond, he claimed he had been busy with family stuff, but Louis suspected different.

After that, they only seemed to ever hang out at parties; Louis never going to his house any more. Louis knew deep down that he was only going in hopes that whatever tension between them would disappear, and a small part of him was only going with hopes that what happened at Zayn’s house would happen again. But at the parties, even though Harry was always the one to invite him - so it really didn’t make sense - he seemed to avoid Louis like the plague, scurrying out of the room whenever he caught sight of the younger boy.

After not getting laid for quite a while and then sleeping with _that_ , Louis was horny as hell, _all_ the fucking time. He’d honestly lost count of how many times he’d wanked since that night, and it only succeeded in taking off the edge, never fully satisfying him, still leaving him wanting more. So, once he’d finally accepted that Harry was going to be of no help, he began to hunt out other suitable possibilities at parties.

Of course, it’s _then_ that Harry decides he’s ready to associate with Louis, always appearing at the worst of times, pulling him away in the middle of a conversation that he felt he was really making progress in. He hadn’t even managed to get a fucking _number_ in the past few days, how the hell did Harry manage that? To make it worse, even when he did pull Louis away, it was never for more than a little chat, of no importance or holding no real meaning. He was being a serious cock block and it was really starting to get on Louis’ fucking nerves.

———————————————————————————-

On the 10th day, he received a text from Harry just as he was stepping out of the shower.

‘ _Hey, party at Niallers. Come find me? Xx_ ’

Louis eyebrows rose in both shock and confusion. Harry hadn’t made an effort like this yet, he’d never asked him to come and find him. Maybe he was finally ready to talk? Hope arose in Louis’ chest, his heart racing at the mere thought of it.

‘ _Be there in 20 :) xx_ ’

After getting ready at the speed of light, Louis walked in to the party not 15 minutes later, sooner than expected. He walked around the crowded rooms downstairs, peering around in search of Harry but never catching sight of him. Spotting a girl Harry had introduced him to a few weeks ago by the name of Alice, he smiled and quickly walked up to her. “Hey! Do you know where Harry is?”

She nodded, smiling back kindly. “Yeah. He’s upstairs. Third door to the right of the stair case.”

Louis thanked her, waving before walking away and practically running up the stairs in his excitement. He was about to turn the knob when he heard his name, stilling him in his movements. His brows furrowed as he pressed his ear against the door curiously.

“Yeah, what about him?” He recognized Harry’s voice immediately.

“I’m sure you’ve already fucked him, haven’t you?” Louis thought that sounded like Harry’s friend Josh, but he couldn’t be sure.

“Yeah, so?”

“It’s just that you usually don’t hang out with people you’ve slept with…Kind of odd.”

Harry laughed. “If you’re implying that I have feelings for him, then no. You know me, mate. I fuck people all the time, doesn’t mean anything.” Louis could feel his eyes beginning to burn at that, every hope he’d had of what their relationship could become crushed.

“You sure?”

“Yeah, come to think of it - I fucked Ashley just last night.”

Josh snickered. “Lucky bastard. She’s fit.”

Louis instantly jerked his head away, not wanting to hear Harry’s reply. He ran his hand through his hair, feeling his heart clench in pain and telling himself that he would not cry, he wouldn’t give Harry that. He felt stupid for thinking that it could ever be more though - this was _Harry_ and he had one night stands all the time. Louis was nothing more than another notch on his bed post.

He knew he wouldn’t be able to face Harry, not right now, and raced down the steps, practically flinging himself out the door.

_IwillnotcryIwillnotcryIwillnotcryIwillnotcry_

As much as he repeated that mantra in his head, he couldn’t stop himself when he got home from curling into a ball on his bed, clutching his pillow to his chest and allowing himself to do just that, the tears streaming furiously down his face.


	3. Chapter 3

It’d been an hour after Louis had ran from Zayn’s party and his sobbing had finally subsided. He lay face down on the bed, the side of his face squished against his pillow, eyes puffy and cheeks flushed, stiff with his drying tears.

His phone vibrated in his pocket and he sniffed, fishing it out to discover he’d received a text from Harry.

_Hey, what happened? I thought you were gonna come find me? - H_

His stomach churned at the memory of the conversation he’d overheard and he let out a heavy, shaky breath of air. He lay there for a while before replying, trying to calm down his whizzing mind and sort out his addled thoughts, searching for an excuse.

_Yeah, sorry. Got sick all of the sudden. - L_

Which wasn’t a complete lie - his stomach wasn’t feeling it’s best at the moment.

_Aw, I’m sorry :( Do you need anything? Xx - H_

Louis frowned, biting his lip. Yeah, but not anything Harry was willing to give.

_No, I’m fine. Thanks tho. - L_

He turned over, resituating himself and toeing his shoes off onto the floor.

_I was really wanting to talk to you! :( We haven’t really got to hang out much lately. I miss you xx - H_

Louis scowled. Yeah, riiight. Sure he did. He typed out a rather nasty reply, but instantly back spaced it, not having the heart to send it and say such a thing. A small part of him blamed himself for the entire situation he’d found himself in, and that part was currently out shining everything else. He _knew_ how Harry was, how Harry had been as long as he’d known of him. He knew his views on sex, it was meaningless - plain and simple. He should’ve known that’s how Harry felt about it when it happened. He should’ve never let that night mean more to him than it really did. It was _his_ fault he was feeling the way he was right now.

_Yah, Haz. Miss you too. - L_

_…Are you okay? - H_

_Yeah…Why wouldn’t I be? - L_

_I don’t know? I just get a feeling you’re not. Do I need to beat the shit out of someone? Cause I will xx - H_

Louis snorted. Can you really beat the shit out of yourself? He chose to not endorse self abuse.

_Ha. No, Haz. I’m okay. Promise. Thanks tho :) - L_

_Anything for my Boobear :P - H_

_Fuck you. You’re never gonna let that go. - L_

_Nope. NEVERRR ;) Are you free Saturday? - H_

_Yeah…so far. Why? - L_

_Well…We haven’t hung out in a while. And, like I said, I miss you. My parents are going on some trip this weekend, so we’ll have the house to ourselves. We can go swimming? :) xx - H_

Louis groaned. He wanted to but fuck, could he really handle it right now? That was only 3 days away.

_…You have a pool? What? Since when? - L_

_Haha. Since like…4 years ago? You goof. It’s in the back. Don’t know how you’ve never seen it. So is that a yes? - H_

He contemplated it for a few minutes, brows furrowed, but in the end…it’s Harry, and could he ever really say no to him?

_Yeah, sure. I’ll be there :) - L_

_Can’t wait ;) Talk to you later xx - H_

Louis sighed, quickly stripping down to his boxers and slipping under the covers. When did his life become so complicated?

——————————————-

“So…wait - let me make sure I’m understanding this right…You slept together, which you _didn’t_ tell me until now by the way,” Liam glared at him half heartedly, “and then you overheard him saying it didn’t mean anything? But he’s still being all buddy-buddy with you?”

Louis merely nodded, leaning his head back against the rough bark of the tree behind him. Their class had been let out ten minutes early and so they were sitting on the ground of the schoolyard, resting under the shade of an old pine, waiting for Danielle - who’d become a permanent fixture in their little group as of late, which Louis was fairly happy about. Danielle was not only beautiful, but she was funny and kind too - the perfect match for Liam, whom she made happy, which automatically made Louis happy. “Mhm. Pretty much.”

“Wow,” Liam breathed, seeming astonished. “I mean, I always knew he was promiscuous and stuff…but…I don’t know. Kind of thought you guys were different, I guess.” He frowned. “I’m really sorry, Louis.”

The feather haired boy shrugged. “’s alright. You didn’t do anything. I just hope I’ll make it through Saturday okay.”

Liam’s brow creased. “Saturday?”

“Yeah, I’m going to his house…said he wants to hang out, we’re going swimming I think.”

“What the hell? Are you serious?”

Louis looked at in confusion. “What?”

Liam scowled. “You’re not seriously still talking to him? You said he was trying to still communicate with you, but I’d assumed you weren’t replying.”

“Well…yeah. Why wouldn’t I?” He looked at him oddly.

“Um…how about because he’s a fucking ass?”

Louis’ eyes widened at the usually clean cut boy’s use of words. “No, he’s not.”

“Oh, okay. So he just had sex with you, while knowing you have feelings for him, and then turned around and talked about it as if it was nothing.” Liam rolled his eyes. “No, that’s not an ass at all. My bad.”

Louis glowered at his friend. “He didn’t know I have feelings for him, and he still doesn’t. Don’t talk about him like that. I’ve known how he is all along, but I still went with it. It’s not his fault.”

Liam simply stared at him for a moment in bewilderment before sighing and rubbing his temples. “I know. I’m sorry, Louis. It shouldn’t have came out like that, I didn’t mean for it to. I know you care for him…but…Lou , you’re not exactly the most inconspicuous person when it comes to your feelings for him, ya know? I think he knows.” He looked at him in sympathy. “And even if he doesn’t, you guys were friends, right? No matter how he is, he didn’t have to go to you. We both know he could’ve had anyone he wanted. He shouldn’t of crossed that line. And, if he cares about you so much, he shouldn’t talk about you as if you’re just another person on his list of conquests.”

Louis swallowed, not being able to do anything else besides nod in response, not knowing what to say. He was thankful that Danielle chose that moment to walk up, taking Liam’s attention off him because he knew Liam was right and he really didn’t wanna hear any more.

————————————————-

_Hurry uupp!! :( I’ve been waiting for ages already slow poke xx - H_

_Hold your horses, will you? I’m on my way, jeez. Couldn’t find my swimming trunks - L_

_Well you didn’t HAVE to find them ;) - H_

Louis rolled his eyes, choosing not to reply and instead stuffing his phone back into his pocket, pressing down on the brake and turning, coming to a stop in Harry’s driveway. He made his way up to the door, trunks clutched in one hand.

He raised his hand up to knock and before his fist had even connected with the wood, it was slung open. Harry grinned broadly at him, the indents of his dimples prominent, donned in a pair of black swimming shorts, curls tousled about in their usual frustratingly perfectly quaf way. “ _Finally_ ,” he sighed dramatically. “Was ‘fraid I was gonna grow gray hair by the time you showed up.”

Louis couldn’t help but to snort at the image of Harry with gray strands spread throughout his curly mop. “Yeah, yeah. Quit complaining. I’m here, aren’t I?”

Harry chuckled and hummed in agreement, stepping back and allowing Louis to pass by him into the house before shutting the door behind him. “You can go change, I’m gonna go ahead and go out. So just come out back when you’re done, alright?”

Louis nodded, promptly making his way upstairs and into the bathroom. He changed quickly into his light blue shorts, hazardly throwing his clothes into a pile in the corner of the room. He walked out to the back leisurely, sliding open the glass door and stepping out, the sun shining down brightly on him, warming up his skin. Harry was in the pool and, as soon as he saw Louis, he climbed out with a cheeky grin, making his way over to the younger boy. His hair hung in wet strands, sticking to his forehead and his shorts were soaked, the water weighing them down so that they were slid down low on his hips. Louis breath hitched and his eyes quickly darted away.

Before Louis even realized that Harry was right next to him, the older boy’s arms were wrapped tightly around him, engulfing him in his larger frame and lifting him up off his feet. Louis flailed, letting out a rather girlish squeal. “Harry! Let me down!”

Harry smirked, not even bothering to reply and running to the edge of the pool, hopping off the edge with Louis still trapped within the circle of his arms. Louis went under, escaping the embrace he was held in, the water a soothingly cool temperate around him, and rose up with a sharp intake of air, flicking his now wet hair off his forehead, instantly smacking Harry in the arm as soon as his vision had cleared. “ _Harry_!”

Harry laughed, hand cradling the area he’d been hit as if it’d actually hurt. “Just trying to help you get used to the water is all.”

Louis scoffed indignantly, a smile threatening to break through his expression. “Yeah, okay.” He quickly made his way around the taller boy, jumping on top of his back before Harry had time to realize what he was doing and wrapping his legs firmly around his torso, locking them at the ankles. He placed his hands on top of Harry’s head, burying his hands in his curls and pressing down, leaning forward with all of his weight, attempting to push him under. Harry stumbled a bit in surprise and tried to catch purchase again, failing and plunging into the water below. Louis cackled, swimming briskly to the edge and leaning his back up against the side.

Harry’s head broke the surface, gasping as he was met with air again. He flipped his head, his hair flopping to one side and out of his eye sight. He glared at Louis playfully. “Well, that wasn’t very nice.”

Louis rolled his eyes. “Yeah, well _you’re_ not very nice.”

Harry merely stared at him for a moment before shrugging nonchalantly. “Nah, not really. Never claimed to be though.”

Louis didn’t reply, mentally going over all the things he could say in response to that but choosing not to.

Harry swam up by his side. “Cooking skills improving any?”

Louis’ lip twitched, remembering how Harry had made him promise to keep on trying to improve and not give up. “No, not really. I tried to make spaghetti last night and I…well, it ended up kind of mushy.” He pouted, scrunching his nose up adorably in distaste.

Harry chuckled. “I’m sure it wasn’t all too bad.” He knocked their shoulders together. “You’ll get better, don’t worry.”

They continued to talk about anything and everything, such as about how their past week had gone and all the things they’d missed in each other’s lives, the crazy shenanigans their families seemed to always be involved in, what movies they’d seen and hated and the ones they’d loved, or what concerts they’d already been to and the ones they would sell their souls to get a ticket to.

It was nearly two hours later, the sun about to set, and they were still in the pool, their skin becoming pruney, not that either noticed or cared. Louis was still resting against the side, while Harry was floating idly in front of him.

“You missed a really good party at Zayn’s, mate. It was good. Shame you got sick and couldn’t go.”

Louis eyes widened slightly, a little taken aback at the random change in conversation, but went with it nonetheless. “Oh, was it?”

“Mhm. Crazy good. You weren’t terribly sick, were you? Hope not.”

Louis merely shook his head, a light blush blooming across his cheeks, biting his lip nervously and unable to meet Harry’s eyes. Lying through text was one thing, lying in person was a whole ‘nother. “Uh, nope.”

Harry closed his eyes briefly, seeming to take a deep breath before standing up, placing both feet firmly on the pool bottom and beginning to make his way over to Louis, the look in his eyes changing in a way Louis couldn’t really describe, but it made the younger boy even more nervous for some reason and he swallowed thickly. “Mmm. That’s good. You seemed better the next day at school, so I’d assumed as much.”

Harry was now up right next to him, their chests mere inches apart and Louis had to crane his neck slightly to look at him. Now that he was up this close, Louis could see that his eyes had darkened and he stared down at the smaller boy intensely, not saying another word.

Louis was just about to crack under the profound tension when, without warning, Harry suddenly rushed forward, claiming Louis’ lips with his own, cupping Louis’ neck in his larger hands and using them to tilt his head to his liking.

Louis reflexively began to kiss back before fully coming to grip with what they were doing and pushing Harry back. “Harry, what are you doing?” He asked, trying to fight against the rapid pace of his heart and the almost irresistible urge to pull Harry back in.

“What does it look like?” He muttered before surging forward again, kissing Louis vigorously, hands spanning out over his chest, fingertips grazing Louis’ nipples and causing a shiver to rush down his spine.

He pushed him back again. “No, Harry. We can’t do this.”

“ _Yes_ , we can.” He repeated his previous action, this time with more force.

Louis was beginning to grow agitated, appalled that Harry hadn’t willingly accepted his refusal. He pushed him back roughly, causing the older boy to stumble slightly in surprise. “ _No_.”

“Why not?”

“Because…because, we can’t, okay? I just don’t want to.”

“That’s a lie and you know it.” His expression hardened.

Louis blinked, not sure he was hearing right. “Lie or not, it’s my decision. And that’s the end of it.”

“What’s the big deal? It’s just sex. And, if I remember correctly, you weren’t exactly opposed to it last time. Quite the opposite actually.”

Louis forehead creased, bewildered at Harry’s sudden change in attitude, and a little bit hurt at what he was insinuating. “Yeah…well, I’m not you.”

Harry glared at him. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“It just means that I don’t take sex all that lightly, okay? I mean, yeah, I’m not exactly a virgin but…I just - I don’t go around having sex like you do. I’m not like you.”

“ _Like me_?” He scowled. “You make it sound like I’m fucking trash. How fucking horrible it would be to be _like me_. You’d never be _like me_.”

Louis flinched at his harsh tone and sighed. “No, Harry. That’s not what I meant, okay? You’re not trash, far from it. But…I-” His mouth set into a firm line. “I heard you at the party, okay?”

“What are you talking about?”

“At Zayn’s…I-I came, I wasn’t sick. But I went looking for you and you were with Josh, I think, and I didn’t intentionally ease drop but I heard my name and I just…I couldn’t help it.”

A flash of panic seemed to flit across Harry’s eyes for a brief moment before they went back to their previous state, hardening. “ _You lied to me_?”

Louis‘ breath rushed out sharply in astonishment. Was Harry seriously trying to get pissed at him for this? Louis should be pissed at _him_ , not the other way around. “Yeah, I did. And I’m not your little damn play thing, okay? You can’t do me that way.”

“What? Give you exactly what you want?” His voice had turned almost taunting and Louis’ brow furrowed in confusion.

“What?”

“You think I’m blind, Louis? It’s almost pathetic how you pine after me like a little fucking puppy.”

Louis’ mouth fell slightly agape, shocked that Harry would say such a thing to him, that Harry would treat him this way. His stomach swirled and he blinked rapidly against the stinging in his eyes because he would _not_ fucking cry in front of him. Harry merely glowered at him, awaiting his reaction and Louis’ fists clenched at his sides, anger boiling up inside of him because how _dare_ he? “You know Harry, you’re not gonna be in school forever, one day you’re gonna have to go out into the real world. What are you gonna do then, huh? You think adults are gonna willingly accept you whoring around and cheer you on like all these teenagers do? You can‘t be this way forever.”

Harry smirked menacingly, the only hint that Louis words had affected him at all was the slight angry flush appearing across his face. “I’m sure I’ll make do. Besides, you can criticize how I am all you want, but it seemed to work just fine in getting you, didn’t it? Actions speak louder than words, Lou, and you weren’t all that opposed to it the other night judging by the way you were practically gagging for it.”

Louis’ breath audibly hitched, hurt at his words, but Harry didn’t even flinch in response. Louis’ voice was a little shaky, trying to speak around the lump that had formed in his throat. “That may be true, but you’re gonna have to grow up eventually, Harry. “ He turned around, scrambling briskly out of the pool, his back faced to Harry momentarily, trying desperately to calm himself down to no avail.

He turned around to find that Harry had followed him out, now mere inches in front of him, their faces both flushed; Harry’s in anger and Louis’ in a mixture of both anger and hurt, feeling betrayed and used. “Get a job, be a fucking man.“ His tone was firmer now, speaking through clinched teeth. “What job do you even plan on getting, huh? Do you even think that far? Can you even think past the next fuck? Cause the only thing I see in your future right now is a nice little spot on the corner. Only thing I can see you being fucking good at anyways.”

Harry was practically fuming now, glaring harshly down at Louis, fists curled tensely at his sides, nails digging into his palms and his breath coming out shallow. “And I’m sure you’d be the first one lined up, wouldn’t you? Probably make it a regular thing. Seeing as how nobody else wants you and you can’t even look at me without more or less falling to your knees.”

Louis’ eyes darted away then, not able to look at him any more, because there’s no way this was Harry, not _his_ Harry. It couldn’t be, could it? His mouth set in a firm line. “Well…if you ever decide you’re ready for an _actual_ relationship and you don’t wanna push people away any more, come find me. Until then, stay as far away from me as possible.“ Louis wasn’t sure why he said it, not the first part anyways, but it’d tumbled out before he could stop it. He desperately wanted to grab the words from the air and stuff them back in, make them disappear, because he felt like he was proving everything Harry was saying right.

Harry suddenly stepped forward and before Louis even realized what was about to happen, before he had to time to react, his head jerked back, his right cheek throbbing furiously and Harry‘s fist curled tensely at his side again. Louis cupped the side of his face, his mind clouded in shock and disbelief. Had Harry really just _punched_ him? “When I am ready, I promise you you’re the last person I’d ever go to,” the older boy snarled.

Louis swallowed, sticking his chin up, trying to maintain what little pride he had left, despite the bruise he was sure was currently forming on his skin. “Fine by me. Don’t ever fucking talk to me again.” His voice was somehow steady and he whirled around briskly, not waiting for a reply and all but running up the stairs and grabbing his clothes before running back out and hopping into his car, tires skidding as he drove away.

———————————————————-

Louis looked up in surprise from where he was currently texting Liam back at the sound of the front door slamming shut, said boy now standing right in front of him. “What are you doing here?”

“I had to come check on you!” Liam’s lip pursed, worry filling his eyes and he sat down gingerly beside Louis on the sofa. “He hit you? Really? He fucking _hit_ you?”

Louis shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. “Yeah,” he muttered. “He did.”

Liam’s hands were fiddling tensely on his lap and it was possibly the angriest Louis ever seen him. “I’m so sorry, Louis. You didn’t deserve that, not at _all_. You’re not gonna talk to him again, are you? _Please_ say you’re not going to,” he looked up at him with pleading eyes.

Louis frowned, staring down at his phone, not able to meet his friend’s pitying stare. “No. Told him not to talk to me any more.”

Liam nodded wearily. “Good…And you’re not gonna talk to him even if he does, right?”

Louis rose his head up, shaking it. “No…As much as I care about him, I’m not gonna be walked all over, I’m not gonna be used,” he murmured. “I deserve better than that, I know that.” He smiled sadly. “Don’t worry.”

Liam couldn’t hold back his sigh of relief. He stared at Louis for a moment, frowning. “..Are you okay, Lou?”

“Yeah…’m alright.”

His brows creased in concern. “Are you sure? It’s okay if you’re not, you know.”

Louis swallowed thickly. He didn’t know how Liam always managed to bring out his emotional side, no matter how much he thought he had it under control, but he really hated it. “I know that. But I’m fine. Honest.”

Liam merely sighed lowly before pulling Louis in by the shoulders and into his warm embrace. “I can tell you’re not okay….’s fine that you’re not. I’m here for you.”

Louis took a deep, shaky breath. “I’m fine though, I swear.” His voice came out choked, contradicting himself.

“You don’t need to hold it in, Lou. That’s not gonna help anything.” He rested his head on top of Louis’, beginning to gently rub his back shoulder blades.

The comforting gesture seemed to push the emotions right out of him, and Louis couldn’t help the choked sob that escaped him, tears beginning to fall down his cheeks. “I really thought he cared about me, Li. I’m so s-stupid.”

Liam shook his head. “No, you’re not. You’ve always had a soft spot for him and he took advantage of that. You are _not_ to blame here, okay?” He shook him gently once the feather haired boy failed to reply. “Do you understand me?”

Louis nodded. “O-okay.” His shoulders began to quake and he leaned farther into his friends embrace, resting his cheek against Liam’s shoulder and fully letting go, the sounds escaping his mouth muffled by Liam’s shirt.


	4. Chapter 4

It’s been almost two weeks since their fight, and Louis is starting to grow a little frustrated. Well, okay - a _lot_ frustrated.

Not even two days after their blow out, he’d received a text from Harry that simply read ‘ _I’m sorry_ ’, to which Louis immediately thought _bullshit_ and didn’t bother to reply. Louis was still hurt, sure, and his feelings for Harry hadn’t suddenly just evaporated into thin air, no - far from it. But if there was one thing that Louis always firmly stood by it was that _nobody_ walked all over him, not even Harry Styles.

Since then, his phone was constantly buzzing with alerts of new messages from the older boy. Generally containing things such as ‘ _I’m really sorry, Lou. Please talk to me_ ’ or ‘ _You were right. About everything, okay? We really need to talk_ ’ or ‘ _I messed up really bad, I know. Just let me explain_ ’ or ‘ _Fuck Lou! At least text me back just once. You can’t ignore me forever_ ’. Louis would always scoff at things such as the last one, because he was doing a pretty good job of it so far.

He’d also been staring at Louis at school constantly since that day. At first it was only a little unnerving, but it was beginning to teeter on the creepy side, and it was really starting to annoy Louis because Harry did this to himself and Louis just wanted to be left alone now; he wanted to forget him and Harry staring at him all the time wasn’t helping. A major part of his annoyance stemmed from Liam’s reaction to it too. Liam had grown immensely protective over Louis since then, and every time he caught the older boy staring at his friend, his whole demeanor would shift, his whole body growing tense and he’d immediately pull Louis out of Harry’s line of sight, usually grumbling out some sort of insult afterwards.

Louis wanted to be agitated at Liam for the way he was handling the situation, but he couldn’t because he understood why. Louis couldn’t remember a time he’d ever even came close to crying in front of Liam in all the years that they’d been friends and then he’d all of the sudden just became a tearful mess in Liam’s lap. He knew that it not only upset his friend, but it also scared him. Louis wished he could take it back, make himself maintain control and not break down in front of him so that he wouldn’t be so worried, but he couldn‘t. So, for now, he’d just put on a smile and act happy, even though he was hurting inside, because there was nothing Liam could do about it and, therefore, there was no point in his friend worrying over him so much.

Louis _would_ be okay eventually, he knew he would. It’d just take time, most likely a lot of it.

————————————————————————————

Harry was currently staring at Louis from across the hallway in his usual creeper manner, leaned back against the lockers, arms crossed and gazing at Louis as if he was the most interesting thing he’d ever seen. Louis sighed, facing away from him and closing his locker whilst slinging his bag over his shoulder. Despite the older boy’s actions, Harry had never tried to verbally communicate with him at school and Louis was grateful for it, because he was honestly not sure if he could handle it.

He made his way down the hall, thankful that there was only two hours left in the school day. Liam walked up to him from the opposite direction and noticed Harry’s lingering eyes on Louis’ retreating figure. “Can I just like - get a hitman or something for you? Cause, if him being a stalker bothers me, I can’t even imagine how it makes you feel.”

“Liam!” Louis exclaimed, shocked but slightly amused at what Liam was insinuating. “Since when did you become so violent?”

“Since that fucker broke your heart, that’s when,” he grunted, “I swear, if he ever tries to actually _talk_ to you again..” He trailed off, shaking his head in disgust.

So, Louis hadn’t exactly told Liam about the texts he’d been receiving. Whoops. “Where’s Dani?’ Louis inquired, effectively changing the subject.

Liam’s eyes lit up. “Oh! She had to go to one of her dance club meetings last hour and it’s not over yet.”

Louis merely nodded. “Ohh.”

“Yeah…So, we’ve got a new kid.”

Louis cocked an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Mhm. He’s pretty fit, Lou,” Liam wiggled his eyebrows, elbowing his friend suggestively.

Louis laughed. “Yeah, I’m sure he is. Since you have such great taste in men and all.”

Liam looked offended. “Hey! Just because I don’t… _sway_ that way doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a good looking lad when I see one, alright? See if I ever try to help you again.”

“Helping me, hmm? I think I’ll be the judge of who’s fit and who’s not, yeah?”

“Fine. See for yourself - he’s right down there, talkin to Maz.” He gestured in the direction he was referring to.

Louis’ brows rose in appreciation upon spotting him. He wasn’t bad. He was pretty cute, actually. He was tan with deep blue eyes and a head full of tossled light brown hair. Louis couldn’t help but to see the resemblance. “Are you sure that isn’t Ethan Craft? ‘Cause I feel like I just walked right into an episode of Lizzie McGuire.”

Liam snorted. “Yeah, yeah. Real funny. He’s actually pretty cool though. We talked a bit last hour. He’s got the next class with us too…I told him he could sit by us.” He grinned.

Louis rolled his eyes. “Well thanks for that. Much appreciated.”

He nodded smugly. “Knew you would.”

They walked into their class and took their seats towards the back corner. They were ahead of other hours so they already knew that they wouldn’t be doing much today. Not even a minute after they’d settled in, the new kid walked in and Liam waved him over. He sat down in front of Louis, as Liam was beside him. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Liam smiled. “This is my friend, Louis.”

The new kid’s eyes shifted over to Louis and he bit his lip, raking his eyes down the feathered haired boys form slowly before dragging them back up at the same pace until their eyes met. “I’m Andy. It’s _very_ nice to meet you.”

Louis smirked. “Do you always blatantly check out every one you meet Andy?”

“Hm, no. Only one’s with an arse to die for that I couldn’t stop staring at since I walked into this school.”

Louis sighed. “Not many can resist, it’s hard - I know. I’ve been cursed.”

“I’d lean more towards _blessed_ , but yeah - ‘s a little hard….Is it claimed?” He tilted his head and batted his eyelashes.

Louis copied his expression. “Yes - by me, myself, and I, sweet cheeks. If that’s your ‘smooth’ way of asking if I’m single though - then yes. I’m…avaaailable,” he drawled.

Andy smiled. “Hopefully not for long.”

———————————————————-

“Hey, good lookin.” Andy winked as he leaned against the locker next to Louis’.

Louis rolled his eyes. “Hey, Andy.”

If there was anything that Louis discovered within the last 6 days, it was that Andy wasn’t shy.

Not at all.

He was very blunt and straightforward about his attraction towards Louis, taking every possible chance he could to hit on him. Though it could be a little overwhelming at times, Louis couldn’t deny that he liked it. After the whole Harry deal, it was refreshing to have someone so openly want you. It was just…it was nice to feel wanted.

Plus, Andy wasn’t too bad of a guy really. Once you got past his overly flirtatious behavior. He and Louis had exchanged numbers on the first day that Andy had came to the school, and you could maybe even say that they were friends now. Since Andy was new, he mostly hung out with Liam and Louis, but neither minded. He had a big ego and was overly confident, but he always kept them entertained.

Andy shifted closer and ran a finger slowly down Louis arm as the feather haired boy finished putting his things in and closed the locker. “So when are you gonna let me take you out?”

Louis refrained from rolling his eyes once more as he turned towards him. “Well…” He trailed off, noticing a certain pair of green eyes staring hard at them from down the hallway, practically burning holes into the back of Andy’s head from how hard he was glaring. Louis hadn’t received any texts from the older boy in the past few days and he’d never replied to them, no, so it wasn’t like they were even actually talking to begin with. But…while a part of him was relieved because maybe he could try to finally get over him now, a part of him was also disappointed by it. A part of him still didn’t want to let Harry go. And it was that part of him that influenced him to run a finger of his own down Andy’s chest as he tilted his head cutely. “That depends. Where would you take me?” He needed to make Harry jealous. And it was stupid. But he just needed _something_.

Andy eyes widened briefly, pleasantly shocked that Louis was even considering it. He stepped even closer, forcing Louis to turn until his back was flush against the locker behind him. He placed a hand above him, against the metal, and leaned down so their faces were close. “Anywhere you want, babe. What kind of things do you like?”

“Well - see, that’s for me to know and for you to find out. So when you do, get back at me, okay?” He poked his nose playfully and laughed as Andy pouted.

“Fine. I have my sources. Won’t take me long.”

“You mean Liam?” Louis deadpanned.

Andy sighed. “Yeah…”

“Good luck with that then, buttercup.” He waved, beginning to walk away, but then turned and kissed his cheek for extra effect, still feeling Harry’s eyes on them.

Andy smirked, leaning forward to do the same, dragging his lips slowly across the soft flesh. “I don’t think I need it. Give it 2 weeks and I’ll have you.” He made to grab Louis’ ass but Louis caught his wrist before he’d succeeded.

He tsked, shaking a finger at him. “Nu-uh-uh. You’ve got to earn that, sorry. I can’t just let anyone touch this, not with an ass like mine.”

Andy laughed. “Mhmm. I hope to earn it one day though.”

Louis shrugged before pushing him back and walking away. “We’ll see.”

He arrived at his car and unlocked it, throwing his jacket in the backseat before closing it and going to open the drivers door. He had just pulled the handle when he was pushed up against the door, a sturdy arm slinking around his waist and forcing him back against their chest. Louis gasped in shock, his breath hitching at the unexpected touch. Soft lips brushed against the shell of his ear. “I’m picking you up at 5 tomorrow. Whether you want to go or not. So be ready.”

Louis blinked, not sure if he heard right, and was about to reply when he was abruptly released. He turned, expecting to find Harry waiting for him to respond, but instead found him walking away briskly as if he’d never said anything to him at all.

—————————————

Time flew and before Louis knew it, it was 5 o’clock. Not that he showed any signs of it. He was relaxed on the sofa in nothing but a pair of sweatpants, snacking on Cheez-Its while watching reruns of Americas Next Top Model. So what if Harry told him to be ready? Louis didn’t give a shit. Who was he to tell him what to do? Louis may have intended to make him jealous, yeah, but that didn’t mean he actually wanted to _interact_ with him. Whatever he had up his sleeve, Louis had no intention of going along with it. At least not willingly.

So when half way into an episode a loud knock broke through the air, he didn’t even move. He’d been kind enough to unlock the door - god knows why - and his pretty little ass was staying right where it was. Harry could let himself in. If he never discovered it was unlocked and left…well, that was his problem.

Unfortunately, Harry was determined and did discover that it was unlocked, marching into the living room moments later. He huffed, placing both hands on his hips upon seeing Louis sprawled across the sofa cushions. “Why aren’t you dressed?”

Louis didn’t even looked up from the television. “Because I’m not going, obviously.” He stuffed a few more cheesy cubes into his mouth.

Harry sighed, beginning to make his way closer. “Stop being such a fucking diva, Lou, and get your ass up.”

“No.” He grabbed the remote and turned the volume up.

He heard a loud groan of frustration and the next thing he knew he was upside down, staring at Harry’s lower back. Louis gasped. “You prick! Let me down!”

He began to smack at Harry’s back and wriggle around in an attempt to get free, but Harry ignored it and merely rolled his eyes, tightening his grip on Louis’ upper thighs. He walked up the stairs, Louis making a fuss the entire way. When he finally entered Louis’ room, he considered putting him down, but quickly changed his mind. “Where’s your t-shirts at?”

“No where.”

“Lou…”

“I’m _not_ going.”

Harry shook his head. “Fine then, I’ll find them myself.” He walked over to Louis’ dresser, the younger boy still slung over his shoulder, one arm wrapped tightly around his thighs. With his free hand, he opened up the top drawer but all he found was an array of boxer briefs. He closed it, promptly reaching for the second one.

“Wait!”

“What?”

“Just…yeah, you don’t have to find them. I’ll tell you wher-”

Harry’s eyebrows creased. “Why the sudden change, Louis?”

Louis cleared his throat. “Umm, just - I don’t know. You’re gonna find them anyways, so what’s the point?”

Harry could feel how much the younger‘s body had tensed though, no matter how much he was trying to hide it, and it sparked his curiosity. “Hmm, I’m finding that a little hard to believe.” He briskly opened the second drawer, but was instantly deflated as there was nothing interesting - only a drawer half full of socks and half full of undershirts.

Still not understanding the younger’s reaction, he began to shift the contents around, looking for something of importance. He felt up into the right corner and his hand closed around something. He pulled it out and couldn’t hold back the bark of laughter from immediately erupting out of his throat. “Who’s your friend, Louis?” He waved the long, purple object around.

Louis groaned, his face flushed as he pushed his face into Harry‘s shirt in embarrassment. “Shut up.”

Harry tsked. “I see you get a little lonely sometimes, do you? Just how often do you use this? I’m gon-”

Louis huffed and smacked Harry’s ass as hard as he could, the noise loud, eliciting a startled yelp from the older boy. “Now, will you shut the fuck up? You’re not doing a very good job of trying to persuade me to go with you.”

Harry snickered softly. “Sorry, sorry.”

“They’re in the second to the bottom.”

Harry crouched down and opened it. “Louis, seriously? How many different colors of shirts do they make?”

Louis glared at him, even though he couldn’t see. “How many times are you going to annoy me before the night’s over?”

Harry merely shrugged the shoulder that wasn’t holding the younger boy. He held up two shirt selections. “Which one?”

“Are you seriously picking out my clothes for me? I’m not two years old.”

“Yeah, but if I let you down, you’re not gonna do it. And you‘ll run off or something.”

“But you’re gonna pick out something shitty, so let me the fuck down and I’ll choose something.” He slapped Harry’s ass again for extra measure, putting even more force it into it this time and the older boy screeched in pain.

“Is that _really_ necessary?” He lifted the smaller boy from his shoulders, setting him down on his feet.

Louis turned away from him, beginning to ruffle through his drawers. “You hit me. I think it’s fair ground, don’t you?”

Harry was quiet for a few moments behind him, before reaching forward and clasping Louis’ elbow gently, turning him around to face him. Harry’s face had morphed into a serious expression, his eyes sad. “Lou…” He whispered. “I di-”

Louis slapped a hand over his mouth, his lips settling into a firm line. “ _No_ , we’re not doing this. So, shut up. I don’t wanna hear it.”

Harry simply stared at him with gloomy eyes, but didn’t attempt to say anything else so Louis allowed his hand to drop before turning back around. He settled for a plain black t-shirt and a pair of skin tight, red skinnies. Nothing special. He contemplated changing in the room whilst Harry was still in it, but changed his mind, instead making his way over to his bathroom. “I shouldn’t even be going any where with you. I should be kicking you out of my house right now.” He closed the door behind him and instantly began to strip his clothes off, switching them for the new ones.

“Yeah….Well, I know someone _really_ likes carnivals and there just so happens to be one in the next town over.” Harry’s voice was muffled through the door and Louis glared at it, silently cursing him for taking advantage of that fact because he really, _really_ did love carnivals and he hadn‘t been to one in what seemed like forever. “And it’s also the last day that it’s here soo…”

Louis swung the door open, his hair moving from the draft of air it sent his way. He continued to glare at the older boy, finally releasing an agitated huff and shoving his Toms on his feet. He stomped past Harry, brushing their shoulders as he did so. “ _Fine_. But I’m not paying for shit!”


	5. Chapter 5

The familiar aroma of greasy corn dogs and funnel cakes and nachos filled the air, invading Louis’ nostrils and he couldn’t help the pleased sigh that escaped him. They’d been there for over half an hour and he still couldn’t get enough of it, his mouth watering. He hadn’t realized he’d been staring, gazing at the rack of long sticks with pink fluff swirled around them until he heard Harry’s voice in his ear.

“Want some?”

Louis jumped slightly, startled, and glared at the lanky boy standing way too close to him, making him feel things he really shouldn’t. “No, I don’t want shit from you.”

Funny, considering he’d just made Harry pay for him to go on about 12 different rides in the past half hour.

Harry huffed. “Lou, stop it.”

“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He rolled his eyes, opening his mouth and letting it rest open for a moment before deciding not to say anything else, and simply walked forward without another word. Louis crossed his arms, not moving from his place. He watched as Harry collected a large cloud of cotton candy, politely thanking the woman at the stand before walking back to where Louis still stood. He tilted his head, smiling, and Louis hated how adorable he looked.

“Sure you don’t want some?”

Louis could smell the sweet scent of it and he bit his lip, managing a stiff nod.

Harry pulled a piece off, twirling it around his finger and bringing it up to Louis mouth, patting the younger boy’s lips gently with it. “Positive?”

Before he could stop himself, his lips wrapped around the tip of Harry’s finger, sucking the digit into his mouth and swirling his tongue around it, devouring the sweet substance. He took pride in the way Harry’s adam’s apple visibly bobbed in his throat. He pulled away, sucking the tip of his finger the whole way, pushing it out with his tongue and it took everything he had to not let the smirk that was desperately fighting its way up surface, maintaining a neutral expression as he saw the way the curly haired boy shifted uncomfortably.

“Hmm, yeah. I’ll take that.” He plucked the stick from Harry’s hand, promptly tugging a large piece off before turning and beginning to walk away, purposely swaying his hips. He didn’t bother to turn around and make sure the older boy was following him.

Louis was almost done when he suddenly stopped, raising his head up and eyeing the Ferris wheel looming over them. He finished the rest off, licking the sticky substance off his fingers before turning to where Harry stood next to him. “Let’s go.”

“You mean….up there? On the Ferris wheel?”

Louis nodded.

“Oh - um, okay..” He looked nervous and Louis snorted.

“Aw, is poor Harry scared?”

Harry glared at him. “No, of course not.”

“Good, then let’s go!” He smirked and took off then, making a beeline for the queue. He was thankful it was short, as standing in total silence wasn’t exactly fun, and they were able to get on as soon as the next people got off. He climbed in first, taking a seat on the bench inside the small compartment. Harry followed, sitting down beside him and they were pressed against one another in the snug space.

Harry peered over the edge cautiously as they began their slow rise, swallowing thickly. Louis sniggered, noticing his apprehension and deciding to use it to his advantage. “Harry, b-but what if we fall? What if the wheel just falls off it’s hinges and we plummet?” He remarked in mock alarm.

Harry closed his eyes, knowing Louis was messing with him out of spite. “Please stop.”

“Aw, but why? Isn’t this fun?” He began to move about, shaking the metal box as they were suspended in the air and Harry breathed deeply.

He curled in on himself, placing his head between his knees, not able to look as long as they were shaking like that and feeling a rush of nausea. “Lou, _please_ stop.”

“Come on!” He nudged the older boy, filling his voice with faux excitement. “Live a little!”

Harry merely shook his head. The box jerked abruptly and he couldn’t hold back his quiet whimper.

Louis blinked slowly, not sure if he’d heard right; unable to believe the state of the normally well composed boy in front of him. “…Are you okay?”

Harry straightened up, revealing his face to Louis, who cursed under his breath at the sickly tone his skin had taken. Harry closed his eyes, breathing out heavily through his nose, and nodded tensely. “Yeah, yeah. I’m good.”

The older boy lifted his lids again and unintentionally glanced out of the cart; his hands reflexively gripping the edge of the bench tightly, his knuckles turning white, and began to worry his bottom lip between his teeth. Louis’ brows furrowed then, his concern overshadowing his resentment as it dawned on him that Harry was serious. Although he was angry at the curly haired boy, he still cared deeply for him and took no enjoyment in seeing him scared as he was. He placed his hand on Harry’s shoulder. “Haz?” he whispered. “Are you -” He licked his lips. “Is it the heights?”

Harry shook his head, loose curls bouncing around his skull. “I’m just -god, it’s so stupid. I’m so stupid, I can’t even explain what it is really.” He swiped a hand over his face, swallowing thickly. “I’ve been this way since I was little. It’s this stupid fucking Ferris wheel, it always gets me. I just -” He took a deep, shaky breath, attempting to calm himself as they had now circled once, beginning to rise to the top again. “I can’t help but to picture us just falling over and - and we’re up so fucking high, y’know? We’d just -” He stopped, groaning into his hands as another wave of nausea rolled over him and returned to his previous position, head between his knees. “I’m just like a little fucking whiny five year old girl.”

Louis shifted awkwardly, not really sure what to do. His first instinct was to pull the older boy into his arms, wrap him up in his embrace and soothe him, assure him there was nothing to be afraid of, kiss away his fears. But he knew he couldn’t do that. So after some deliberating, he settled for slinging his arm around Harry’s shoulders, rubbing his upper arm in an attempt at comfort. “It’s okay, Haz. Everyone’s scared of something.”

“Yeah, but my mine’s fucking stupid,” Harry grumbled.

“Nah,” he retorted, shrugging a shoulder. “I don’t think so. Everyone’s different. It’s okay to have a fear of something - you’re human, after all. We’re gonna be okay though, I promise.”

Harry breathed deeply from his position between his legs and nodded. Louis continued to rub his arm in silence as they circled another time, though it was unsuccessful; Harry’s breathing erratic. Harry leaned up, resting his elbows on his knees and his face in his hands. “I - we need to get off soon. I need off.”

Louis’ mouth curved down into a frown, moving his soothing hand between Harry’s shoulder blades. “We should be getting off soon. It’ll be fine.”

“No, Lou,” Harry shook his head wearily. “I-I think I’m gonna be sick,” he croaked.

Louis’ eyes widened. “Oh.” His eyes darted around the small space frantically but there was nothing of use; no bucket or anything of the sort for Harry to use. He bit his lip. “I swear I’m sympathizing with you right now but, _fuck_ , if you blow chunks all over me, I’m gonna get sick right back on you, Haz.”

Harry let out a sort of snort, face still scrunched up in nausea. “So caring.”

“I’m sorry! I don’t deal well with vomit. Not _on_ me anyways.”

“Well, I’ll make sure to try and watch my aim when my stomach is trying to lurch out of my throat then.”

Louis nodded. “Thanks, ‘ppreciate it.” A few silent moments passed and Louis noticed Harry’s skin tone becoming gradually paler. Fortunately, the ride soon ended and Louis sighed in relief, muscles visibly relaxing. As soon as the door to their compartment opened, Harry practically ran out towards the edge of the carnival, not bothering to look back and see if Louis was following him. Louis scrambled after him in alarm, shoes scuffing noisily along the pavement as he came upon where Harry was crouched over, hands on his knees.

“Harry?”

Harry merely groaned in reply.

“Do - should I get you water?”

Harry opened his mouth to respond but was cut off as he suddenly lurched forward, vomiting messily onto the concrete in front of him.

Louis instantly rushed forward, holding Harry’s hair back from his face. “Shh. S’alright.”

Harry could only groan as his body pitched forward again, the sound of splashing following soon after.

Louis winced at the sound, feeling immensely guilty, and released a huff of frustration. “Why the _fuck_ did you let me take you up there?! What the fuck is wrong with you?! Why’d you let me do that!!”

Harry straightened up, wiping his mouth on his sleeve and grimacing. “Yeah. M’sorry. S’all my fault.” He rolled his eyes.

Louis stomped his foot childishly. “You should’ve told me!”

Harry threw his hands out in exasperation. “What the hell was I supposed to say, Louis? That I’m scared of a fucking Ferris wheel? So you could get even more pissed at me for not doing it with you? You won’t listen to me as it is!” He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and exhaling slowly, face overcome with weariness. “I just - I didn’t want to make you mad anymore. I just wanted you to listen,” he sighed.

Louis swallowed, looking down at his shoes. “I just - _no_ , I’m not doing this. I can’t.”

“And why not?”

“Cause - I…” He looked up, meeting Harry’s eyes. “You did it, okay? I - I wanted you, I was pathetic over you.” He grit his teeth, trying desperately to keep his emotions in check. “I rejected you and you did it - you got me. You won. Can’t you just leave me alone now?” His voice cracked at the end and he bit his lip in shame.

Harry ran his hand through his hair, eyes clouded in remorse. “Lou - _no_ , god. Please just listen to me. It’s not like that at _all_ , I swear.”

Louis didn’t say anything for a few moments, having an inner battle with himself before finally stuffng his hands in his pockets. “…Can we not do this here?”

Harry nodded vigorously, catching on that Louis was actually going to hear him out. “Yeah, course. You wanna - um, my car?”

Louis nodded back and Harry began the trek to his vehicle, Louis trailing behind him. It was tense and awkward, both of them knowing that the conversation that lay ahead wouldn’t be an easy one. Thankfully, his car was close and so it only took them a few minutes to reach it. Harry quickly pulled his keys out, unlocking the doors with a simple click and they both clambered into the back seat; Louis pushed against one door, Harry against the other, an exaggerated distance between them but Harry knew Louis needed it right now, so he dealt with it.

Harry fidgeted in his seat, twisting his hands in his lap, not sure where to start. He’d planned it beforehand but now that it was time, it all seemed so stupid. “I don’t even really know what to say, to be honest. I just - I’m _so_ fucking sorry, Lou. You have no idea. Even though I don’t deserve your forgiveness, I’m still asking for it. You don’t deserve how I treated you.”

He looked up then, staring at the back of the drivers seat; not able to meet Louis’ eyes, afraid of what he might see. “I can’t believe I _hit_ you,” he conceded roughly. “I wish I could take it back - I want to _so_ bad, but I can’t. Just … I cared for you so much and I was trying to fight it because that’s just not _me_. I don’t do relationships. I don’t _like_ people, y’know? I fuck people. I like what their bodies can do for me. Plain and simple. But you…” he breathed, voice shaking slightly. This wasn’t easy for him, he wasn’t one to really talk about his feelings. But Louis deserved an explanation. “You made me care. You made me not wanna do that anymore, you made wanna _change_. And I didn’t really know how to handle that, so…I did what I felt comfortable with. That night at the party when we were dancing…I wanted you, so I just let go. I told myself that if I just had you once, it’d be okay. Because I never went back to people after the first time, never wanted to. I thought it’d be the same with you but - it, it just got worse.”

His jaw tensed and he forced himself to turn his head, make eye contact with Louis, show him through his own green orbs that he was serious about what he was saying. The younger boy seemed to be holding his breath, hands clutching tightly at his knees, stare intense as he watched Harry.

“I left before you woke up because that’s what I normally do. I leave because it means nothing. I’ve never wanted to stay, not even a little. But…” He swallowed thickly. “It took everything in me to leave you that morning, Lou. You just looked so good all sprawled out asleep and satisfied. All I wanted to do was cuddle and kiss you awake and have you again and again and again. Not only did that scare me but, as stupid as it sounds, it really, _really_ pissed me off. I wasn’t used to not being in control, I didn’t like it. I didn’t like knowing that someone had that kind of power over me. So…I kept on blowing you off, I tried to treat you like I do everyone else I sleep with so that they don’t think something more might come out of it. I knew you had feelings for me, Lou, but I ignored it, tried my best not to think about it. I wanted it to go away. But it wouldn’t.”

He turned his body then so that he was facing Louis, curling one leg up on the seat so that his knee was almost touching Louis’ thigh. “So I decided that we could just be fuck buddies, for some _stupid_ reason I thought that it’d be okay. And I invited you over and yeah…when you got all flustered over it and it was apparent that you didn’t want that kind of a relationship, it threw me off. And then you said what you did and I - I knew you were right. About everything. I need to grow up. I need to realize that what I do affects people. That I’m hurting people. And it made me so angry because I didn’t want to face it, but you were trying to make me. And I just..” He looked down at his lap. “I lashed out. I’m sorry.”

Louis cleared his throat after a brief pause, the sound oddly loud in the sudden silence that had surrounded them. “So…you care about me, yeah…alright. But, why are you doing this? You’re pretty much saying you don’t want a relationship, so why?” His voice was hoarse, thick with emotion.

Harry’s head shot up. “No, no! I do.” He scooted closer until their legs were pressed together. “It won’t be easy, I’ve never even thought of being committed before. But…I do. I want you. I want you to be mine.” He squeezed Louis’ thigh gently, caressing the jean clad skin with his thumb. “I wanna be yours,” he whispered.

Louis froze. “But…you can’t just treat me like that. You can’t just throw me off because you don’t know how to deal with your feelings.”

Harry tensed, jerking his hand back and placing it awkwardly in his lap. “Y-yeah, I know. _Fuck_ , I know, okay? I don’t know why I did it. And I don’t deserve you, I know that. But I’m selfish and so I’m still asking for you. I’m not even saying that everything will just be all butterflies and rainbows if we were to be together, because it won’t. I don’t do this, I’ve never been in a real relationship. Never even wanted to be in one. And that’s why - I just…” He floundered, at a loss for words.

“Well…if you expect me to be your little secret, or for you to still be able to go and fuck people whenever you want, then you’ve got another thing comin’.”

Harry shook his head furiously. “No, no, no. I want - I want people to know. I don’t wanna hide. And I mean…it’ll be a change, yeah, but I’m not gonna go sleep with anyone else.”

Louis nodded. “And if you ever don’t know how to deal with someone, you’d talk to me about it? Because that’s what you do in a relationship. You don’t have to deal with it on your own. You’re supposed to talk about it.”

“Y-yeah, I’ll talk to you.”

Louis didn’t say anything else then, silence falling over them again, the only sound their labored breathing and the distant screeching of children at the carnival. So much time passed that Harry began to shift awkwardly, nerves overcoming him, preparing himself for a rejection. Louis huffed out a frustrated sigh, opening his mouth to speak but Harry quickly stuck his hands out in front of him before he realized what he was doing, stopping him, sure that he was going to refuse him.

“Lou - just, fuck. _Please_ ,” he closed his eyes momentarily, fighting against the blush fighting to make its way up (Harry Styles did _not_ blush) because he was _begging_ \- but god, it was worth it. “Just give me a chance, okay? I-I know I fucked up, I know. But…” He wrung his hands in his lap, not really sure what to do with them, but needing something to distract himself with; if only a little. “I don’t wanna lose you.”

Louis groaned, covering his face with his hands. “You really hurt me, Haz. I don‘t know if I can take that again.”

“I know…And I‘m really sorry. I don‘t know how to make that more clear to you, what do you want me to do? I won’t hurt you again though, I’ll try my best not to. And I know you have no reason to believe me, not after what I’ve done, and I don’t know how to prove to you that I mean what I say, I _can’t_. But I _do_ ,“ he whispered. “You’ll just have to take a risk. I-I’ll prove it to you in the weeks to come, yeah?”

Louis took in a shaky breath, hands still covering his face, and didn‘t speak for so long that Harry was sure he wasn‘t going to. He finally dropped his hands into his lap, meeting Harry‘s eyes, orbs dotted with fear, but also a little excitement, because there was that little part of him that truly believed that Harry meant what he said, and if so - then he‘s been _waiting_ for this, been dreaming of this, and the thought of it coming true was indescribable. “Yeah…Okay. We can give it a try.”

Harry’s blinked slowly, not sure he’d heard right. “Yeah?”

Louis nodded, hands quivering slightly with the heavy onslaught of emotions overtaking him. “Yeah. I’m willing to try, you just can’t do shit like that again.”

Harry’s face broke out into a small smile and he wrapped his arms around Louis’ abdomen, pulling him close. “M’sorry.”

“I know, Haz. I know. S’okay.” He smiled, leaning further against Harry’s body.

They stayed like that, their two bodies pressed closely together, Louis coddled in Harry’s warm embrace, his breathing slowing, gaining control back of his heart rate; knowing he was taking a risk but happy with it, happy to be back in the curly haired boys hold again.

Harry cupped the back of Louis’ neck and began to tug him close but was stopped by a hand on his chest as Louis’ pushed him back. “Oh hell no.”

Harry’s browns furrowed. “What?”

“Not that I don’t want to, but you just threw up.” He retorted, face scrunched up in distaste. “So until you brush your teeth or something, I’m good.”

Without another word, Harry scrambled over the console, opening the glove compartment and pulling out a small, maroon bag that was stashed in it. He sat back again and pulled a carry-on, disposable toothbrush out. It already had the toothpaste inside it, so all he had to do was use it and then throw it away. He held it up with a cheeky grin and Louis cackled. The curly haired boy pouted. “Hey! At least I’m prepared, okay?”

“Does this happen often then?”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Nooo. I suspected it might today though, so I made sure I had this.” He stuck the toothbrush in his mouth and Louis became silent, waiting until Harry was done. Once he’d thoroughly brushed and had grabbed a water bottle from the front seat before rinsing his mouth out, he pulled Louis up against him again with a smirk. “Now where were we?”

Louis flushed slightly at how cheesy he was being, allowing himself to be tugged forward until their faces were centimeters apart. Harry brushed his nose along Louis’ cheek and the younger boy’s breath picked up at the contact after having not been this close to Harry in so long.

Harry pressed their lips together gently, kissing him slowly and Louis’ hands slid up Harry’s back until he was playing with the small hairs at the nape of his neck. Harry pulled back slightly. “Missed you so much,” he breathed against the younger boy’s mouth and Louis merely nodded before jerking their lips together again, fingers carding through Harry’s curls.

They kissed for a few minutes, until Louis drew back, nuzzling his face into Harry’s neck and relaxing in his embrace. “Don’t feel like going back and riding rides anymore.”

Harry’s hand dropped down to Louis’ lower back and under his shirt, caressing the smooth skin affectionately. “Hmm?”

“Wanna just stay here with you.”

Harry smiled. “Yeah?”

Louis nodded. “Mhmm.”

After deciding to just stay in the car and talk for now, they resituated themselves so that Harry’s back was against the door, Louis sat between his spread legs, the younger boy’s back pressed flush against his chest. Louis allowed his head to loll back on Harry’s shoulder, slack in his hold. Harry intertwined their hands together, resting them on Louis’ stomach and pushed his face into the crevice of Louis’ neck, pecking the skin there. “You know it’s not gonna be easy, right?”

“Yeah, but I know you’ve never been in a relationship before. We’ll work through it.”

Harry shook his head. “Yeah, that - but I mean…you’re gonna hear a lot of stuff at school. People are gonna talk.”

“Yeah…I know that too. But I’ll be fine, Haz. I can handle it.”

Harry sighed and hummed in acceptance. They talked some about what all had happened in the past few weeks that they had missed out in each other’s lives until Harry randomly blurted out, “Who’s Andy?”

Louis snorted at the almost accusing tone he’d use, his jealousy obvious. “Just a friend from school. Why?”

“Cause…does he know you’re _friends_?”

Louis had to roll his eyes at that. “Yes, Haz. He knows. May not like it, but he knows.”

Harry nuzzled his face into Louis’ neck again, breath warm against Louis’ skin and the smaller boy shivered. “Good. Cause you’re mine now.”

Louis nodded. “Mhmm, all yours.”

“All mine.” He placed an open mouthed kiss on Louis’ neck. “And this is mine.” He squeezed their intertwined hands. “And these are mine.” He released his grip on one of Louis’ hands, using it to turn Louis’ face towards his, kissing his lips. “And those are mine.”

Louis giggled. “You’re so weird.”

Harry ignored him and carried on, pecking his eyelids, his cheeks, his forehead. “Mine, mine, mine.” He trailed a hand down, gripping Louis’ knee. “That’s mine.” He clutched the bottom of his leg, lifting his knee up so that he could graze his fingertips further up, sending a chill down the younger boy’s spine. He squeezed Louis’ bum firmly in his hand and Louis let out a startled squeak. “ _Mine_.”

He circled his around to the top of Louis thighs, brushing it up the skin before cupping Louis’ in his hand and started to palm him through his trousers. “Mmm,” he hummed. “ _This_ is definitely mine.”

“ _Haz_ ,” Louis whined weakly, already beginning to harden at the contact. It felt like it’d been so long since Harry had touched him and just the small brush of his hand was making him come undone.

Harry released his other hand from Louis’ grasp, using it to pull at Louis’ nipple through the material of his shirt, feeling the small nub become firmer under his touch. “That’s mine too.”

“Harry,” he panted. “Stop, we’re in public.”

“Hmm, nope. I do believe we’re in a car, actually.”

“Still in public. And, believe it or not, I’m not much for public nudity.”

Harry chuckled. “Okay, fine, fine.” He drew both of his hands back, settling them on his own legs instead. “I’ll stop. Sorry.”

Louis sat up and turned around clumsily until he was straddling Harry’s lap. “I said stop, I didn’t mean _stop_ stop.” He kissed him hard, tongue invading his mouth roughly and Harry hands instantly tugged him closer by his shirt. Louis pulled back, breathing heavily. “I want you. Just - just not here, okay? M’not really an exhibitionist.”

Louis’ ears barely had time to catch on to the strained “Then what the hell are we still doing here?” before their lips were smashed back together.


	6. Chapter 6

Louis slowly turned the handle and his car door slung open. He gathered his bag from the passenger seat and flung it over his shoulder before closing and locking the door, swiveling around to face the school with a shaky breath, his nerves going hay-wire; which was crazy because he’d been to this school countless times, he’d been going here his whole _life_. But it felt so much different today, as if he was about to walk upon unfamiliar territory.

Today was the first day Harry and he would be out as a couple, and he didn’t know what to expect in the slightest. He knew there would be stares, he knew there would be whispers - of course there would be. He just didn’t know the extent to which they would go, how shocked and thrown off people would be, how they would react to it. A small part of him was scared, the endless question of ‘will they hate me because of it? Will they hate me for taking him away? For making him unavailable?’ running rapid through his mind, like an endless scrolling billboard in the middle of the street, flashing and bright, unavoidable. He’d been well liked by his peers his whole life, even one person openly disliking him would be a major change for him; one he wasn’t too keen on.

But a larger part of him, one that covered up that scared little voice by decibels, knew that in the end, it didn’t really matter. In the end, he would have Harry - he _has_ Harry. And what could be more important than that?

Once inside, he discovered that Harry was no where to be seen. Not surprising, really. He always showed up around 5 minutes before first bell rang, if that. Louis felt his stomach drop in disappointment at that, despite how silly it was because he’d just seen Harry last night.

They’d ended up spending Saturday night together (a night that Louis will _never_ forget) and all of Sunday too. They’d swam and watched movies and cuddled and even cooked a cake, just for old time’s sake. When Sunday night had rolled around, Louis had literally had to _push_ Harry out the door. The older boy had been kissing him and tugging on his shirt, making these cute little mewling sounds against his mouth just to rile him up and it was the biggest struggle for Louis to pull away, the urge to press Harry against the nearest wall and ravage him almost overwhelming.

Louis had finally began to force him out, insisting that they both had school tomorrow and even if Harry didn’t care too much about his grades, Louis sure did and he would be getting _no_ sleep if Harry stayed the night. Harry had went unwillingly with a pout after a few more stolen kisses.

The feelings for Harry remained full force, spiraling like a world wind inside him, and they’d only been confirmed as the weekend drew to a close. There was always that quiet nagging voice in his head though, of course, reminding him that Harry could be messing with him, playing with him for his own pleasure. Reminding him that it could all be gone in a short time. Which was why he’d forced himself to ignore it, to savor the time he had now because, even though he may be risking his heart, he was _happy_ \- happier than he’d been in a long time, in fact. And he was determined to enjoy it while he still could, to not dwell on what all could go wrong.

Even though they’d only been separated for mere hours, he already missed the older boy, his eyes fleeting around the hallway in search of his familiar head of curls. Once he’d finally accepted that Harry wasn’t there yet, he opened his locker with a frown, beginning to collect his books for his first period class.

His head dipped down, reaching behind a stack of books to where he remembered having left his favorite pen when he felt a presence next to him. His breath instantly hitched, his body jerking back at an almost inhuman speed. His eyes met blue instead of green, light shaggy hair instead of wisps of dark curls and the adrenaline surging through his body promptly left, his shoulders sagging in response. “Oh. Hey, Andy.”

Andy’s eyebrows rose. “What? Not excited to see me?”

Louis shook his head, settling on a pen lying openly on his locker shelf, stuffing it into a zipper of his bag. “Uh - no, it’s not that. Sorry.”

Andy only nodded. “Alright then…Well, I texted you this weekend.”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. I was - um,” he searched his mind for words, wondering how to make it come across lightly. “I was busy and -”

“Well, I was thinking about what you said earlier,” Andy interrupted. “And yeah, alright. I don’t really have a good idea of what you like to do. So how about…” He moved closer, brushing a finger down the length of Louis’ arm. “We just try a bunch of ideas? I’m sure I could make you enjoy it either way…”

“Uh.” His voice came out hoarse and cracked and he cleared his throat, taking a step back. “I don’t, I don’t really think that’s such a good idea.”

Andy tilted his head, brows knitting together, moving even closer. “C’mon, Louis. Stop playing hard to get.”

Louis opened his mouth to reply but was cut off as arms encircled his waist, hands clasping together on his stomach as a kiss was pressed to the junction between his neck and shoulder.

“Hey,” Harry said, hot breath fanning out over the column of his neck.

Louis let out a sigh of contentment, leaning back into the familiar chest of his boyfriend (would he ever get used to that?). “Hey.”

Andy’s mouth curved downward into a frown. “What’s going on?”

“What does it look like?” Harry retorted, a sudden sharp edge accompanying his voice. Louis was a bit taken aback by his abrupt change in tone, having never seen him act that way. He could feel the older boy’s body become rigid with irritation behind him, clearly not having any tolerance for Andy whatsoever. The past few weeks of having to watch Andy flirt with Louis had seemed to heighten his annoyance to the level where he became aggravated at his mere presence, and Andy actually speaking to him was unthinkable.

One of Andy’s eyebrows rose, his arms crossing across his chest. “I wasn’t aware Louis was taken.”

“Well, he _is_ ,” Harry replied, his voice harsh and his arms tightening around Louis’ waist, pulling the smaller boy flush against his chest. His tone made it clear that it was in Andy’s best interest to listen and not drag the conversation on any longer. “So, I highly suggest you _back off_.”

Andy remained still, feet motionless. He and Harry stared at each other tensely for a few painstaking moments in which Louis shifted uncomfortably in his boyfriend’s hold, eyes down casting to the floor, finding it too awkward to do anything else.

Andy finally began to back up, eyes trailing down Louis’ form. “Fine. You know where to find me though, Louis.”

Harry’s grip on Louis’ became impossibly tighter at that and Louis winced slightly, resting his hands on top of Harry’s larger ones, gently coaxing them loose. “Just _go_ , Andy.”

Andy sent one last glare at Harry before turning and walking away. Louis promptly turned around in the older boy’s hold, wrapping his arms around his abdomen.

“I really, _really_ fucking don’t like him,” Harry seethed, releasing a heavy breath of air through his nose.

“Calm down, love,” Louis soothed, nuzzling his face into the taller boy’s chest.

Harry dipped his head, brushing his nose into the hair at the top of Louis’ head and sighed, willing the tension to leave his body. “I know. I’m sorry.” He encircled Louis’ shoulders in both arms, caressing the jut of his left shoulder with the pad of his thumb.

“S’okay,” Louis whispered. He peeked his head up, peering out over the top of Harry’s arms and caught sight of a group of people across the hall from them, staring. As soon as they saw him looking, they darted their eyes away, whispers filling their small circle.

Louis tried his best to ignore it, burying his face back down into Harry’s shirt. “Zayn and Niall know, right?”

“Mhmm,” Harry hummed. “Course they do.”

“Good…I think Liam wants to kill me,” he mumbled.

“Why?”

“He’s not very….approving of you.”

Harry hesitated. “Well - I mean…I’m not - I wasn’t very nice to you, y’know? ”

Louis nodded. “Yeah, just - give him time, yeah? He’s my best friend, he just wants what’s best for me.”

Harry brushed his hair back off his forehead, kissing the newly revealed skin sweetly. “I know.”

“I want him to like you though,” he murmured. “I really do.”

“Well…maybe he will eventually, yeah? I’ll just have to convince him too. That I mean this and that I’m serious about you.”

Louis lifted his head and smiled slightly, a light blush lining his cheeks, still not quite used to Harry so openly voicing his feelings. “Yeah?”

Harry nodded, biting his lip. “Yeah.” He cupped his cheek then, grazing the raised flesh of his cheekbone lightly with his thumb, and drew closer. Louis’ breath hitched, mind barely registering the feel of eyes still on them. He kissed him softly, Louis’ hand raising to loosely hold Harry’s slim wrist.

Once they drew back, Harry grinned broadly at him and Louis’ blush deepened, suddenly hyper-aware of the hallway full of people staring at them as whispers filled the air. Harry sensed Louis’ uneasiness and slid his finger tips down the golden skin of his arm, slowly intertwining their fingers together once he reached the end. He squeezed his hand comfortingly. “Ignore them,” he whispered.

Louis nodded hesitantly, eyes flickering around nervously.

“They’re going to talk. We can’t stop them. But it doesn’t even matter, okay? I don’t care what they say. Neither should you. It’s a big change. I’ve never been in a relationship before. No one’s ever seen me with someone. So they’re going to talk.” He intertwined their other hands then, bringing both up to rest upon Louis’ chest. “But I _want_ you, alright? And nothing is going to change that.”

Louis nodded again, more convincing this time, a sheepish grin stretching across his lips. “Yeah…okay.”

Harry smiled, pecking him quickly on the lips. “Now, how about we go and start trying to convince Liam to like me, yeah?”


End file.
